Tales of a Fourth Grade Lovely
by DragonWriterZZ
Summary: Now in fourth grade, Scout's getting prettier and making more friends. However, a lot of them are boys. Yet she promises to be Dill's forever. But can she keep her promise? MULTICHAPTER. Dill/Scout/Cecil Jacobs. SLIGHT Jem/FC. T for one or two words.
1. A Promise is a Promise

**So, I wanted more TKAM fics to read, but not many people are uploading, so I decided "I probably could…" thus, here I am. :) Now, I noticed quite a few errors in my last TKAM fic (not many, only around…4-6?), but they were only grammatical errors. **

**Anyway, I've been trying to work on country accents (I may be a bit Southern, but I speak w/ no accent, yet I DO use some northern AND southern slang…weird, right?), so look out for me. If you have any suggestions, I'd be glad to take them in. :)**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own any of Harper Lee's character OR **_**To Kill a Mockingbird**_**. It all belongs to (DUH) Harper Lee. :) Thanks for reading, though! **

**-\[=]/-**

I didn't like the first day of school. It was going to be lengthy and tough…I hated it. Fourth Grade was _not_ going to be fun, well, according to _Jem_ it wasn't. I sighed as I chose a seat, which wasn't very hard because I was the first one there. We had some new teacher; Mrs. Everson. She was a curly-haired brunette with at least seven freckles on her cheeks and deep blue eyes. She had this sweet attitude, and wore a long, green dress with about three buttons below the floppy collar of it. She didn't stand a chance.

Next to enter the room were Walter Cunningham and Cecil Jacobs. They took their spots next to me, both of them grinning like maniacs. Now, I could understand Cecil Jacobs grinning so widely, but _Walter_ was quite shy of grinning hugely. This made me a bit suspicious of what was going on. I arched an eyebrow at them as I rolled my hand, which was my signal for telling them to speak.

"New meat," Cecil snickered.

I looked at Mrs. Everson as she smiled away, writing words on her blackboard as the chalk lightly tapped it. I then looked between Cecil and Walter.

"Cecil Jacobs," I growled his name quietly, "you be nice to 'er! And you," I added as I turned to face Walter, "I didn't think _you_ would do this to 'er, Walter! You of all people! Mrs. Everson's clearly a sensitive person."

Walter held his hands up in defense, "That ain't what we're talkin' 'bout, Scout."

"Liar," I judged quietly as Cecil settled a hand on my shoulder.

"Scout," he snapped. "He ain't lyin'!"

My mouth opened as my eyes widened whilst I turned toward Walter. "You ain't?"

"No'm!" he shook his head violently as he answered me. "It wasn't Mrs. Everson we was talkin' 'bout!"

"Who're ya'll talkin' 'bout, then?" I questioned.

"There's a new girl outside," Cecil stated. "We thought you'd get along with her kinda well."

I shrugged, "Maybe. Ya'll know anythin' 'bout her?"

"We know she's a girl," Cecil confirmed.

"Well," I began a sarcastic rant, "she just sounds like a sweetheart, don't she?"

Cecil gave me a blank stare for a moment before turning to the door. He looked a bit anxious. The suspense must have been killing him. I sniggered quietly to Walter, who smirked in return. She walked in on the balls of her feet, which were covered in flat Mary Janes. I looked up at her face, which was dotted with only a few freckles on her face. She had red-blonde hair, which was short and wavy. Her eyes were a piercing green; dark, too. Her dress, too, was green, but I brighter shade than her eyes; it was just a little below her knees. There was a white ribbon tied around the waist of it.

"That's her," Walter murmured.

"I heard this's her second year 'a fourth grade," Cecil informed me. "She's s'pposed to be a fifth grader."

I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. I had learned last year that rumors were just silly little lies most of the time. Boo-er, _Arthur_ Radley wasn't scary, honestly. He was quite nice! I mean, especially after saving my brother! I looked back at the girl. She looked nice, yet shy. The boys moved behind me silently, leaving a vacant desk for her. I looked at them fiercely. Walter gave a sheepish smile and shrug as Cecil just smirked at me, raising an eyebrow. I sighed and raised my hand up to her. She caught it and slowly moved toward me.

"I-Is that seat open?" she queried quietly.

"Yep," I smiled at her. "Feel free to sit down."

She beamed, taking the seat. I held out my hand to her, which she accepted and shook. "My name's Jean Louise Finch, but most folks call me Scout."

"I'm Eleanor Mildred Bellesen," she replied with a nice smile, "but a lot of people call me Nellie."

"Nice ta meet ya," I said politely, "how long've ya been in Maycomb?"

"I just moved here this summer," Nellie affirmed, "but it's also my second year in fourth grade. My father suggested that I retake it in case this class is more advanced than the one Topeka."

What d'ya know; Cecil Jacobs told the truth.

I arched a brow, "Topeka? That place in Kansas?"

"Yes," she nodded, "I lived there last year until my father decided to move here."

"Why in Sam Hill would 'e move here 'a all places?" I inquired before quickly adding. "No offense."

She giggled, "None taken. He said he'd like to be a doctor in a small town. He also lived here once; had a nice friend named…Atticus I believe."

I beamed, my eyes as wide as saucers. "My dad's name's Atticus!"

"Really," she replied, shocked. "We should ask them if they know each other! My dad's name is Clarence."

"I'll be sure to ask 'im," I assured her.

I accidentally knocked a book off my desk with all the gesticulating. I went down to pick it up, and saw that Nellie had some denim on her knees. I got back into my seat and smiled. Her cheeks turned just a tad bit pink, but it wasn't noticeable, really.

"Do ya wear overalls underneath yer dress?" I whispered almost inaudibly to her.

"Yes," she murmured. "Is that normal here?"

I shrugged and responded with, "I do it. No one 'cept my Aunt Alexandra really cares."

When the class filled in, we still spoke quietly with each other. Of course, Mrs. Everson had no problem with anyone speaking. The next day would probably be different, so, for then, we'd learn more about each other.

**TKAM**

Sure, I was pretty upset about Dill going back home the next day, but I'd still write to him. At least I made a new friend the first day of school. Jem picked me up as soon as school let out. Once we got home, I ran into the house, found Atticus and hugged him. He laughed and set me on his lap.

"How was your day, Scout?" he inquired calmly.

"Great, actually," I beamed. "I made a new friend named Nellie. She said she just moved here and was wondering if you knew her father."

"What is his name," he asked, arching a brow.

"Clarence Bellesen," I replied.

Atticus's eyebrows hopped right up as he grinned. "Clarence Bellesen? I haven't seen him in the longest time. Why don't you ask Nellie if she and her father could come over tomorrow?"

"Yes sir," I smiled as I left him with a goodbye.

I rushed down the steps to see Dill, who was smiling away. I returned his expression, meeting him on the ground. As we waited for Jem, Dill decided to start up a conversation.

"How was school," he questioned.

"Pretty good, actually," I replied, stuffing my hands in my overall pockets. "I met a new friend. Her name's Nellie."

"That's great, Scout!" he grinned. "Too bad I'm leaving tomorrow."

"Yeah," I frowned, "I'll still be writin' ya, Dill. Will you write me?"

"Shoosh yeah!" he exclaimed just as Jem came outside.

"What're ya'll hollerin' 'bout?" Jem asked as he stepped down the stairs slowly.

"No time," I stated, grabbing him by the wrist. "We've gotta play as much as we can! Dill's leavin' tomorrow!"

**TKAM**

Jem had homework for his first day, so he had to run home. Dill and I sat on the tire swing in the yard, just talking to each other. We'd laugh and joke, but there was a moment of silence. I sighed quietly, lying back over the hole of the tire. Dill chuckled and copied me. He slowly closed his hand over mine, which made me smile and exhale happily. He turned his head just a centimeter toward mine, keeping his eyes on the stars.

"Hey, Scout," he began.

"Hmm," I queried softly.

"You're still my fiancée, right?" he questioned worriedly.

I turned my head all the way to him, "What sorta question's _that_, Dill? 'Course I am!"

"Well," he stirred a bit as he replied with, "you're around those boys at yer school all nine months. Do any of 'em like ya that way?"

I looked up at the stars before I looked back at him. "No, I don't think so. Don't worry 'bout me, Dill. I don't like any of 'em that way, neither! 'Sides, _you're_ my fiancée! Not them!"

He smiled once more, "That's true. I'll be writin' to you, Scout."

"Likewise," I confirmed.

"Dill!" Miss Rachel hollered for her nephew. "It's time to come in!"

"Looks like I'm leavin'," he sighed as we sat up. "I'll miss you 'n Jem."

"We'll miss you, too, Dill," I smiled sadly as I gave him a hug.

"Dill!" This time she droned his name out.

He gave me a peck on the cheek before he left for the gate. "Remember to write!"

"I will!" I hollered back as he left.

Once I made sure he got to Miss Rachel's porch step and inside, I went into my own home. I sat at the table with my brother, who was finishing up an essay. I rested my head in my palms, which caused him to look at me oddly. He let his pencil down and ruffled my brunette head. He doesn't usually do that sort of thing to me, but I guess he sensed how upset I was. I smiled a soft, little smile at him, which he returned.

"Ya gonna be ok, there?" he inquired. "It's only a few months. Dill'll be back soon. You can count on it."

Exhaling through my nose, I stated, "Boy, I sure hope so."

**TKAM**

Jem and I walked to school the next day, me sulking the entire way. He sighed, hating the sight of a child upset. I don't know why he couldn't stand sad kids or sad girls, he just didn't like it. Atticus said it was because he was a boy, but I didn't get that at all. I hated when my best friend left. I stopped to kick a rock along the way and grunted. I had totally lost it.

"I hate this," I whined.

"Scout," Jem finally snapped, "I'm sick 'a you actin' like this. He'll come back soon! I promise."

"I know 'e will!" I hollered back. "But he left sounding like he didn't trust me!"

"Scout, in all honesty," he began as he grazed a hand through his hair, "he does. He's just gettin' older…'n worries."

It took me a moment before deciding if I carried on with whining, I'd get yelled at by him even more than he already had. He'd probably even smack my back. I sighed and got ahead of him, slinging the belt that held my books over my shoulder. He let it go and walked behind me. We passed the Radley place, where I stopped to wave at Arthur. In the window, I saw a figure wave back. Beaming, I scampered to school.

"Is that all it takes to make you happy?" I heard Jem mutter.

"More 'an likely!" I yelled.

As we went along the way, I was ended up being the first to class once again. Cecil Jacobs, Walter, and Little Chuck Little walked in together, taking their seats. Cecil came up to me, putting his hands down on my desk. I turned to face him silently. He just stared at me for a long time, looking at me funny. I raised a brow at him, waiting for him to speak. He didn't, though. Finally, I waved my hand in his face. He just kept staring! I stood up and copied his stance.

"What d'ya want?" I queried quite loudly.

"I told you that you'd get along swell with that girl," he smirked, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, ok, Cecil Jacobs was right fer once," I confirmed as I slowly descended into my seat.

Before I knew it, Nellie came into the room and sat next to me. Little Chuck Little came up to her and shot her a toothy grin. I rolled my eyes and shooed him away, saying "Get, Chuck! Get!" He pouted and walked away. Nellie smiled and thanked me, which I returned. I noticed she was in overalls, causing me to beam. About two other girls, Mary Cinders and Jamielee (we all pronounced it Jay-muh-lee) Zinctin, wore overalls on a daily basis, so it was nice to have another girl around with them.

We didn't have much time to talk, so I never got to telling her she could come over during the morning. Mrs. Everson walked in soon. A few kids tried giving her a hard time (mainly a new boy named Raymond Henries), whom she gave three strikes. Raymond was the first one out. She was sweet until you made her sour. He got sent to the corner, where he had to write "I will not disrupt or anger the teacher and my classmates." She said he could either do that or she could pull out the paddle. I smirked. Mrs. Everson didn't mind that I knew how to read and write, or the fact that I knew my math just from watching Jem. She was good in my book.

When recess started, Jem came over to Cecil, Walter, Nellie and I. He noticed I was smiling, so he smiled.

"Hey, guys," he greeted us before looking at Nellie. "'M sorry, I don't think I know you."

"Oh, I'm Eleanor Bellesen," she giggled as she extended her hand out to him, "but most folks call me Nellie."

"I'm Jeremy Finch," he introduced himself as he shook her out-stretched hand. "I get called Jem more off'en than not, though."

She breathed out "It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise," he smiled politely. "Are ya new to Maycomb?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"She just moved her during the summer," I confirmed, "from Topeka, Kansas."

"Kansas, huh," he smirked, placing his hands on his hips. "We speak a bit southern down 'ere; think ya can handle it?"

"I have so far," she giggled out, pushing her hair back.

I could tell she enjoyed talking to Jem. She was the same way _I_ was around Dill, except they were polite with each other. Cecil nudged Walter, who nudged me. I looked at both of them and saw Cecil drawing a heart with fingers. I rolled my eyes at him, smirked and shook my head. I had to agree, though; it was obvious that Nellie had at least a _minute_ crush on Jem. He explained that he had to leave for a game of kickball he promised to play with his friends. We nodded and said goodbye to him quickly as he rushed away. Nellie turned to me on her heel.

"What grade's he in?" she inquired.

"Eighth," I replied with a smirk. "Why?"

"Just wondering," she snickered.

"Ya know," I spoke, "I asked Atticus if he knew a Clarence Bellesen, and we was wonderin' if the ya'll'd wanna come over after school."

She nodded vigorously, "Sure thing."

**TKAM**

Jem was waiting for me outside. I hadn't told him Nellie would be joining us for dinner. When we walked out of class together, Jem got the picture, nodded, and we walked on. That was when I realized something: Maybe Dill would still be at Miss Rachel's place! Would Nellie mind if I left with Jem? Nah, she'd talk with him more than likely. I turned to Jem and asked if I could run ahead.

"Why in Sam Hill would ya do that?" he inquired, cocking a brow.

"Maybe Dill's still there!" I answered somewhat loudly. "I need ta see, Jem!"

He exhaled, pointed ahead, and confirmed, "Go on, Scout. You must 'a ended your talk wrong if you've been so irritated 'bout it all day."

"Thanks, Jem!" I hollered before dashing forward.

I heard Nellie question who Dill was, and Jem began to answer, but I was too hopeful to pay attention to what his reply was. I ran and ran and ran. Lucky for me, Dill was just then walking off of the porch. I squealed in delight as he reached the grass with his leather-bound book. I had no idea what he was writing about, but I didn't care at that moment. He saw me approach him, beamed, held his ground, and held his arms out to me. I slowed down quite a bit before running in to his arms. He gave me a huge hug before letting go and just grinning at me.

"I thought school took a longer walk than that!" he laughed.

"Not if ya run like yer 'scapin' Satan's grasp!" I responded with a snicker. "When're ya leavin'?"

He tugged his ticket from his pocket and glanced at it before looking back up. "I have ten minutes ta play with ya 'til I go home."

"Well, let's make it last," I smirked.

Jem and Nellie caught up with me faster than I thought. They were about a house or two away. Dill came to my ear and whispered "Since when does Jem have a girlfriend," which made me snicker until I almost choked myself. I explained that Nellie was my new friend at school and she more than likely had a tiny crush on Jem. He nodded his head, winked and waved at the two. They waved back and approached us.

"Hey Dill," Jem greeted, "I thought you'd be at the train station by now."

"I thought so, too," he shrugged. "'Pparently, Aunt Rachel got the wrong train time, so I've about ten minutes left."

"Make it last, then" he snickered. "By the way, this's Nellie."

"Hello," she waved at him.

"Hey," he waved back before holding my hand.

Nellie smirked at me, causing me to smirk back. We talked for quite a while until Dill had to leave. He almost got into Miss Rachel's car without his book. I gasped, picked it up and gave it to him quickly. He grinned at me, thanking me about twenty times, kissed me on the cheek, and got into the car. The entire time he drove away, I waved at him. Once they rounded the corner I sighed.

"Thanks, Jem," I smiled at my brother.

"Not a problem," he smirked.

"Ok, so, Nellie," I began, "do we need ta go ta yer house and get yer dad?"

"If ya'll don't mind it," she said quietly.

"It's nothin'," Jem waved his hand dismissively. "I'll just tell Atticus we're goin' to get him."

"Ok," Nellie replied. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Jem and I responded.

**Mmk, so this is the end of chapter 1. :3 This should be a short multi-chaptered story, but I hope you like it.**

**NOW A QUESTION FOR YOU. I NEED YOUR OPINION.**

**Is Nellie a Mary-Sue or not? I can't tell. If I should tone her down a bit or take her up a notch, please tell me! 8D Thank you!**

**-=-=-=+]+[+**

**Q AND A**

_**1: WILL THE CECIL/SCOUT COME UP SOON?**_

**Don't worry; Cecil/Scout should come up any moment now. ;D**

_**2: ARE THERE BOYS FIGHTS OR JEALOUSY IN THIS?**_

**Ooo…Dill's gonna be JEALOUS. Yes, jealous 9-year-olds exist in this. XD Keep watch, it'll come up.**

**As for fights….more than likely. ;)**

_**3: WHEN WILL YOU NEXT UPLOAD?**_

**I have no idea, actually. It'll be this week or weekend, I assure you! 8D**

_**4: WHAT'S WITH THE TITLE? IS IT A PARODY?**_

**Oh, it's a parody alright. XD Ever heard of **_**Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing**_**? This is only a parody of the title. NOT THE BOOK. Mmk? No suing for me.**

_**5: ARE WE ALLOWED TO SEND YOU ANY QUESTIONS WE HAVE THAT YOU WILL ANSWER IN YOUR AUTHOR'S NOTE?**_

**Feel free! :3 I'd love to help and answer in any way I can. 8D**


	2. That Raymond Henries

**Hey dudes! Thanks for the alerts and faves! :3 Mmk, reviews keep me going, so go ahead. Don't be shy ;D**

_**REVIEW RESPONSES.**_

**PinkyKupkake: Thanks SO MUCH for the feedback! :3 I appreciate it. I'm keeping my on Jem and his character thanks to you ;D and I'll take Nellie down a notch. :3**

**Amy's Imagination: Thanks to you, too for the review! It means a lot! Don't worry; this story'll go on for quite a bit. XD And I'm keeping others in mind. ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of Harper Lee's character OR **_**To Kill a Mockingbird**_**. It all belongs to (DUH) Harper Lee. :) Thanks for reading, guys!**

**-\[=]/-**

We walked up the street toward Nellie's house. Once we reached it, Nellie knocked on the door quickly. Her father opened the door, smiling down at us. Nellie explained who we were (Atticus Finch's children was the first thing she said) quietly to him, causing him to agree. We went to our home, entering the aperture with the Bellesens. Atticus stood from his chair with an outstretched hand. Mr. Bellesen approached him with a grunt, almost reluctantly shaking his hand. Atticus paid no mind to it as he ushered us all toward the table. Just as I sat down, a knock came to the door. Jem and I jolted our necks around to face each other, each wearing a you-go-get-it look on our faces.

"Scout, I just sat down," he muttered.

"I did, too," I murmured back.

After a moment of growling at each other, he sighed out "Fine; we'll Rock-Paper-Scissors it."

"Deal," I stated.

Unfortunately, I got rock whilst he had paper. With an exhale, I hopped down from my chair and crept up to the aperture. As I opened it up, Cecil Jacobs and Walter Cunningham came into view. Walter waved happily at me as Cecil smirked, leaning against the doorframe as he did. I sighed with a smile crossing my lips as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Atticus," I called, "we've got more comp'ny!"

"Thanks, Scout," they grinned at me.

"Come in," I replied, opening the door wider for them.

As they entered, I pulled up two more chairs as Atticus greeted my two classmates. It was certainly a full table. Cal set out the food for us, which all of us thanked her for (with the exception of Mr. Bellesen, who just grunted). Walter piled some mashed potatoes on his plate and reached for the syrup, but just before he grasped it, he stopped himself to look at me. I giggled and nodded at him, allowing him permission. He quite liked that. After dumping syrup on his mashed potatoes, he scooped up some peas and sprinkled them over the potatoes. Smirking, I piled some peas onto my own plate, along with small piece of Salisbury steak.

"Clarence," Atticus started up a conversation, "how has being a lawyer been?"

He swallowed several green beans and shrugged before stabbing his steak. "It was a'right, I guess."

"It _was_," Atticus queried.

"I'm into doctorin' now," he replied.

Atticus nodded slowly. Nellie was looking a bit more nervous than usual when her father opened his mouth once again.

"The reason I quit bein' a lawyer is 'cause I been givin' up on all this chilluns nonsense," he stated, which made Nellie drop her fork slowly onto her plate and widen her eyes. "All this dumb talk…like they's not our own property."

We all did the same as Nellie had. My fork slowly descended from my mouth to my steak. It scared me. I hadn't known what he was talking about. What…what did he mean by that? I thought I knew what he meant by it, but I wasn't exact about his opinion. Cecil was so caught off guard that I could have sworn that I actually saw him stop flushing his food down his gullet midway. Jem gave Mr. Bellesen a death glare.

"Excuse me," Atticus arched a brow, clearly not believing what he'd just heard.

"Nothin'," he sighed exasperatedly. "Forget 'bout it, Atticus."

"No," Atticus insisted, "Keep on, please. I'd like to hear what you said."

"Oh, well," Mr. Bellesen began.

"Pop," Nellie quickly cut him off, "how's the job been?"

"Ellen," Mr. Bellesen stopped her, dragging out the name in a rough tone, "don't in'errupt me when I talk."

Atticus deepened his voice as he stated, "Clarence, I was so sure Nellie was short for Eleanor; not Ellen."

Mr. Bellesen looked upward at the ceiling, squinting his eyes as if he were thinking. "Oh yeah…"

Nellie quickly lifted herself from the chair, suddenly wanting to forget all about this. Cecil, Walter and I glanced at each other in a split second. Jem was catching onto whatever was happening just as much as Atticus was. Mr. Bellesen rose from his spot, stretched, grabbed his daughter's wrist (it looked like a tight grip), and decided on leaving.

"Oh, uh," Nellie began, "I'll see ya'll tomorrow."

"Ok," I slowly nodded as I replied. "Bye, Nellie."

"Bye," she said as she left. "Thank you for dinner."

And with that, the door was shut. Jem stormed off into the family room, Atticus trying to follow at his speed. I looked at both Walter and Cecil as Cal came into the room, rinsing her hands with a washcloth. She wiped them on her apron, settled them on her hips, and then looked around.

"Where's Mr. Finch, Scout?" she inquired.

"Chasin' after Jem," I confirmed. "He stormed out after Nellie left."

"Why'd Nellie leave," she asked, lowering to my level on her knees.

"Mr. Bellesen made 'er leave with him," I affirmed quietly. "He said stuff 'bout kids and property and why he left bein' a lawyer…it was weird, Cal."

She put her hands to her mouth before silently saying, "Would you kids mind clearin' the table for me? I need to check sum'tin with Mr. Finch."

"Sure, Cal," I agreed to her terms while nodding.

She rushed off to find Atticus whilst Cecil and Walter grabbed some dishes. I ran the water, got a sponge in my hand, and waited for them to bring all of the dishes in. Once they had, Walter rinsed, Cecil dried, and I put each item up. We were quiet until we started to have a soap fight. Cal walked in on us when we had four-fifths of it done. She gave us a look, folded her arms, and tapped her foot. I sheepishly smiled, running my fingers through my brown hair, which allowed the soap to fall gradually.

"Hey, Cal…" I said quietly and awkwardly. "We were just—"

"Havin' yoselves a bubble fight," she finished for me. "Just like you 'n Dill have ev'ry single time I leave you both to do the dishes."

"Yes'um," I sighed.

She looked over all the dishes. Suddenly, her frown turned into a smile. She began giggling and patted us all on our heads. After which, she shooed us outside to play. We wanted to go over to Nellie's, but Cecil explained it may not be the best option if her father had made everyone so upset. I agreed after quite a while. We all sat on the porch with our heads in our palms. Walter stood up and sighed, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He said goodbye to us after a bit, thanking me for having him over. He and Cecil were getting along better, same goes for them and I. We hadn't exactly gotten along the best before.

"When'd that boyfriend 'a yours leave?" Cecil queried.

I screwed my head toward him. He wasn't looking at me or even trying to make eye-contact with me. He looked forward like he had said nothing at all. Cecil Jacobs was most definitely a curious boy; no doubt about that. He had me wondering sometimes. Looking at him watch the street made me think he was in a daze. I left the subject alone for a few moments until his head jolted from his palms.

"Well," he snapped, "when'd he leave?"

"When'd who leave?" I inquired, completely forgetting what he had asked me.

"Yer boyfriend," he recurred, rolling his eyes.

"Fiancée."

"Huh," he lifted a brow.

"Fiancée," I repeated, "Dill's my fiancée; not boyfriend."

"Scout," he huffed, "that's kids stuff. Ya can't be engaged at nine-years-old, dummy."

"Six-years-old," I corrected him. "I was proposed to when I was six, ya yap."

"Still," he replied. "That's dumb. It makes no sense."

"How's it dumb," I queried angrily, placing my hands on my hips. "He's telling me he'll love me forever, crazy!"

"Do you love _him_?" he asked.

"'Course I do!" I yelled. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Just checkin'," he replied with a click of his tongue. "When's he due back?"

"I'll ask Miss Rachel later," I shrugged, "but he's usually back 'round the end 'a school."

"Hmm," he buzzed. "You write to him?"

"Yeah," I smiled fondly, thinking of the last letter he wrote me. "He writes _me_, too. Last letter he sent was so sweet."

"Lemme see," he held out his hand as he demanded this.

"Here," I said as I took the letter from my front pocket and handed it to him.

He took it, unfolded it, and read over Dill's somewhat-messy scrawl. He rolled his eyes several times, and when he was done, he handed it back quietly. He made a gagging-look once he finished before smirking at me. I rolled my eyes before turning them toward Dill's letter. He had dropped it in our mailbox just before he left with Miss Rachel for the train. He probably didn't think I'd find it until several days later. However, I found it right off.

_Dear Scout,_

_It's only been a day or so, but I needed to write to you! I miss you. I liked meeting your friend Nellie; she was nice. I noticed that while we were on the tire swing, I kinda got worried about trusting you. I _do_ trust you, Scout! I really do! I just worry with all the guys you hang around with. I don't know why I've been so worried this summer…can I just tell you that I fully trust and love you? I mean, we _are_ getting married soon. And not the pretend kind like we did last summer!_*_ The real kind!_

_Love,_

_Dill_

I beamed as I tucked it back into my front overall pocket. Cecil Jacobs got up at once, stretching his arms out as he did so. He glanced calmly at me before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Are ya goin' ta visit yer aunt fer Christmas again this year," he inquired, "er are they comin' here?"

"No idea," I confirmed with a shrug. "Why?"

"Just wonderin'," he stated.

"Ok," I smirked.

I stood up as well, sticking out my hand, waiting for him to shake it. He slapped his hand in mine, pumping it up and down. As he did so, his curly, ginger hair* jumped up and down. He chuckled before letting go and waving me goodbye as he walked down our pathway for home. I watched him leave until he was out of my sight. After which, I walked toward the Radley house. I stood out front on the sidewalk. Before I knew it, Jem had come out and stood next to me, staring at the house just as I was.

"What're ya lookin' at, Scout?" he asked.

"Radley house," I replied. "What were ya so steamed 'bout earlier?"

He quickly shot his head in my direction, looking quite worried. "N-Nothin'. It's none 'a yer business, anyhow."

I scowled at him, but decided to ignore him altogether. With a sigh, I waited for Mr. Arthur's figure to appear. When it did, I absolutely beamed, waving my hand back and forth as fast as I could. Jem copied me, but in a less energetic way, although he _did_ keep a soft smile. I could tell it was Mr. Arthur because he slowly raised his hand to the window, waving back at us cautiously. With a happy skip in my step, I went home, Jem closely in tow.

**TKAM**

After several hours, my homework was finished and I was being put to bed. Atticus came into my room, deciding to read with me. Soon we'd gone through a chapter of the Bible, and my eyelids felt heavy. He smiled softly, ruffled my bangs, kissed my forehead, flipped my light switch off, and crossed into Jem's room. I had fallen asleep for only a few seconds before I heard some arguing in Jem's room.

"Why, Atticus?" I heard my brother snap. "Why can he just get away with it like that?"

"We have no proof, Jem," he sighed. "It takes time."

"Well, how much time, sir?" he asked, his voice rising at a dangerous pace.

I was tempted to get out of bed and press my ear to the door. However, my floor started creaking well over a year ago, which anyone could hear quite easily. Atticus would skin me alive if he heard me walking around after bedtime. I took the safe way in eaves-dropping and kept quiet, listening intently.

"I have no idea," Atticus finally replied silently.

I could almost hear Jem shake. Whatever was happening was firing him up quickly. I heard them wish each other goodnight, Atticus telling Jem he'd "get to the bottom of it," whatever that meant. I had fallen asleep much quicker than I thought I would have after that.

**TKAM**

Jem and I walked to school, Jem as quiet as can be, obviously thinking about what happened between he and Atticus last night. I had learned over the years when to keep away from Jem. He was in one of his moods…like Miss Rachel and Miss Stephanie say women a little older than me get once a month.* I silently tried to match up our footsteps as we walked. His legs were longer than mine, along with his feet, which made it hard to keep our footsteps in unison. Once I finally got it right, he stopped walking. I picked my head up from the ground and looked at with a quirked up brow.

"What?" I queried.

"What're ya doin', Scout?" he grunted.

"Tryin' to match up our feet," I snickered. "Come on, Jem, we're gonna be late."

He huffed as he stepped beside me, gesturing for me to come along. I smiled and walked along. Next thing I knew, Walter Cunningham was sprinting my way. I stopped Jem by holding his arm just before throwing them in front of me in a way that told Walter to slow down.

"Scout!" he hollered, grabbing my hand. "Come on! Come _on!_"

"What's the matter, Walter?" I yelled back, a bit angrily.

"Cecil's gotten himself in trouble again!" He replied loudly, waving his arms in every direction.

I sighed, rolled my eyes, grabbed each boy's arm and dashed to school as fast as my legs would carry me. When we had finally reached the school yard, I saw what Walter had meant. Cecil Jacobs was in another fight. That would be just like him, wouldn't it? I stepped in closer to try and get a glimpse of who he was fighting. Nellie met up with us just then. She looked a little unordinary. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with something of a tight collar on it. Her slacks were long and dark.

I was about to ask her what she was wearing them for, but Cecil got punched in the gut just before my mouth could muster the words for it. Jem's eyes went wide, Walter and I gasped, and Nellie shivered a tiny bit. I watched as Cecil started to stand up, but couldn't. I finally figured out who it was that Cecil was fighting: Raymond Henries. When would that boy quit causing trouble? I don't know what who did to who, but Raymond probably started it.

I almost screamed when he approached Cecil, who was sprawled out on the ground, holding his stomach in absolute pain. He tried getting up, but his right arm was keeping him from it. He went from grasping his stomach to his arm in a flash, hissing inwardly. Raymond came closer, threatening him with a raised foot at his head. Cecil quickly jolted to his shoulder blades, blasting both of his legs forward like a kangaroo, creating a direct hit at Raymond's foot, which flipped him backwards. That was mine and Walter's cue to come to the rescue.

We gathered him up quickly, Walter gently holding his right arm. It was then that I noticed a knife near him. Jem made me speed up and run into Mrs. Everson's room. He must've given Nellie directions to someplace else, because she wasn't in tow for long. We sat him down at a desk; lucky for us, Mrs. Everson hadn't been there yet. If she had been, her desk would have a suitcase on top.

"Cecil Jacobs!" I hollered at him, catching attention from each boy. "I can't believe you! What in Sam Hill made ya think gettin' in a fight with Raymond Henries would be a nice idea?"

He held his arm loosely before giving me a death glare. "Oh no, Scout, I'm alright. Nice 'a you ta ask." he said sarcastically.

"Answer me," I demanded through grit teeth.

"Well, he came to the school yard while I was playin' with the tether ball. He said he wanted ta play, so I let 'im." Cecil began with a sigh. "I beat him the first few times, then he beat me two times after that. I said I felt a li'l tired, so I'd go onto class. He called me chicken, which sorta got to me. I told 'im that I ain't a chicken, which made 'im mad. He said I called 'im a liar, and I corrected 'im, sayin' that I just ain't chicken. Next thing I know, he pulls out a knife, cuts my arm, and I swing a left hook at 'im. A few kids come up, that Jamielee Zinctin sees us and calls out to her friends about it, then they tell their friends and so on."

I sigh, motioning for him to put his arm on the desk. He did, allowing us to exam it. I saw a deep line cut into his right arm; skinny and narrow, blood spread across the sides. Moments later, Nellie came in with the school nurse. She caught sight of his arm fast as lightning.

"Oh my," she began, poking his arm tenderly, which still made him scream in pain. "What'd you do, boy?"

"Raymond Henries brought a knife ta school," he growled.

She sighed angrily, telling him to go with her. He reluctantly followed her just Mrs. Everson came in. She looked at us before quietly inquiring, "What happened to Cecil Jacobs?"

"Raymond Henries brought a knife ta school, ma'am," I said. "He cut 'im right across his right arm."

She slammed her suitcase onto her desk, her eyes fierce with fire ignited in them as she exclaimed, "What?" She then marched out of the room, absolutely enraged. I smirked, turning to Nellie and Walter. They gave me expressions that contained arched brows.

"I love our teacher," I snickered.

They laughed just ask the warning bell rang. Jem said goodbye and dashed off to class, leaving the three of us alone. Little Chuck Little walked in, laughing crazily, his hands on his stomach. He settled his books onto his desk, took his seat, and laughed into the face of the table. I looked over at him, smirking.

"Mrs. Everson get ahold 'a Raymond Henries?" I inquired.

"Oh, ya'll can't even _imagine _the look on that yap's face!" he howled in laughter, slapping his knee.

Jamielee Zinctin walked in, sitting next to Little Chuck. I glanced over at her, as if asking what had happened. She looked confused, until she said "Oh!" and knew what I was talking about. She settled her books on the desk quietly before waving her hand dismissively.

"Cecil's tellin' the truth," she stated, "Raymond started it."

"Thank you," I smiled.

Everyone came in after several moments, all laughing as hard as they could. Mrs. Everson was right behind them, dragging a certain Raymond Henries by his ugly little ear as he hissed in pain. She was yelling at him the entire time, finally ending her march at the corner, where she tugged him quite quickly into it, making him face the wall. She went from enraged to Miss Mary Sunshine in five seconds with a sigh separating them.

**TKAM**

Walter and I waited for Cecil after school. Jem had already gone on home, and Nellie had to leave right away to start dinner for her father. We were outside the nurse's office, which felt like forever. Jamielee Zinctin, Mary Cinders and Little Chuck Little met us after a moment, wide-eyed. Walter and I motioned for them to speak, which they took up on after a second or two.

"Has he been in there all day?" Little Chuck asked.

"Mhm," Walter mumbled, nodding his head.

"Poor Cecil," Mary sighed sadly, "tell 'im that we hope he feels a'right soon."

"Will do," I confirmed.

They waved us goodbye as they walked off to the schoolyard. It wasn't long before our legs grew weary, causing us to drop down to the ground slowly. I decided I'd pull out a black piece of paper and begin writing a letter to Dill. Walter looked at me, smiling softly as he did so.

"Are you writin' that one boy…" he queried, trying to think of his name, "Dill?"

"Yep," I sighed as I smiled. "You met 'im, right?"

"Right," he nodded a single time before looking up. "Ya know, I don't think Cecil likes Dill all too much."

"I can sorta tell," I stated sadly. "He was yellin' 'bout him yesterday."

He just bobbed his head up and down. I finished a paragraph and then some before deciding to fold it up and put it in my pocket; saving some for home. Cecil walked out with a bandaged arm and a pained look. Walter and I jolted up, Walter giving him a ginger pat on the back. I grabbed his left wrist, feeling his pulse go wild. I looked up at him.

"What's wrong," I inquired, "why's yer heart so crazy?"

"I'm wounded," he replied monotonously as if it were the most obvious thing on earth.

"Well, _obviously_," I confirmed as I rolled my eyes. "Are ya goin' home or what?"

"Home," he sighed, "did we get any homework?"

"No one 'cept Raymond," Walter affirmed. "She was worried 'bout yer arm the entire time, so she decided to just lay off of homework 'til ya can write again."

He smiled tenderly, "I'll hafta thank her for that."

"She really _is_ a good teacher, ya know."

**There ya go! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! ;D It was quite fun to write. READ FARTHER FOR THE * MEANINGS!**

**1* Read my other fic **_**Jem the Wedding Planner**_** and you'll understand what he meant by a pretend wedding. ;D**

**2* I don't remember a description of Cecil Jacobs, so I'm giving him curly, red hair. XD That's how I always imagined him, anyhow.**

**3* Ok, a little girls-have-this-problem-once-a-month (period) joke. I MIGHT make a oneshot out of this. Not sure yet. XD**

**Any questions will be answered! ;D Thanks for reading, guys! REMEMBER. **_**REVIEWS HELP ME UPDATE FASTER.**_


	3. Cuts and Other Wounds

**Eller. :) How're ya'll doin'? I hope you're doing fine! I've had these huge headaches back and forth…maybe it's my conscious…idk. LOL. ANYWAYS. Yeah, I'm gonna update faster if I get a few more reviews, because I also need advice. XD;;;**

**PinkyKupkake: Glad you liked it! 0w0 Don't worry; I was trying to make it somewhat vague with what was going on with Nellie and her father. XD You should figure it out soon. ;D**

_**QUESTION FOR YOU!**_

**What all would you like to see more in here? :) Cecil/Scout…Dill/Scout…Dream sequences…Atticus…Nellie…Jem…anything? **

**Hope you like this chapter! 8D**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own Harper Lee's characters! They're all her own, kk? :) I only own this plot, fic, Nellie Bellesen, Clarence Bellesen, Jamielee Zinctin, Raymond Henries, and Mary Cinders. Thanks for reading, dudes! ;D**

**-[\=/]-**

Walter and I helped Cecil get home, which he appreciated. We saw his father, who let out a sigh, a meaningful, yet quite sad, "Thank you," as he allowed his son in the house. Cecil waved us goodbye, which we waved back to. I sighed quietly as Walter and I walked to my house; his father was already over, so I invited him, as well. We trudged across the sidewalk, meeting Jamielee halfway there. Walter gently smiled at her while I gave her a confused expression.

"Hey guys," she said to us, holding a tray in her hands. "My ma made Cecil some brownies. Sure hope he likes 'em."

I got a whiff of the brownies on the tray, which made me smile out "Them brownies smell delicious, Jamielee!"

She sort of turned pink in the ears once I complimented the brownies. Nevertheless, she smiled, gave a single nod at me, and said "Thanks, Scout."

"No problem," I replied. "We just dropped Cecil off."

"Thanks, ya'll," she beamed, skipping toward the house in her white converse. "Happy Wednesday!"

"You, too," we waved back at her.

Once she was out of sight, I turned to Walter with a smirk gracing my face just above my chin. He gave me a confused expression which contained a cocked brow. I began to snicker as I walked on. He rushed to stop me quickly.

"What, Scout?" he inquired cautiously. "What's so funny?"

"I think you like 'er," I smirked at him, leaning my head in just a bit.

"Wha-What," he blurted out.

He went wide-eyed, stepped back several steps, and looked at me with fear shining in his eyes. I held my smirk for quite a while. I finally lost it after a moment or so, which made me laugh so hard I cried. I patted him on the shoulder as we walked back on track to the house. He rolled his eyes, completely dismissing the conversation, and followed me.

**TKAM**

Once we arrived at the house, we caught Jem in the middle of the Cecil story. He was telling Atticus, Mr. Cunningham, and Cal all about the fight just as Walter and I sat at the table. Cal gasped once she heard about Raymond pulling out a knife, whilst Atticus let his eyes bug out. Mr. Cunningham whispered something and shook his head. Jem tossed his head in mine and Walter's direction quickly.

"Ain't that how it happened," he began, "or was he lyin'?"

"I asked Jamielee," I confirmed, "she said he was tellin' the truth."

He nodded slowly before lifting his milk to his mouth. Cal excused herself to get Walter and I some milk. Walter sputtered out a thank you, which made me smile softly. Walter was just one of those kids that could pull off that kind of shy-and-polite-kid stuff and be all cutesy with it. We drank our milk quietly as Cal sat back in her spot, engrossing herself in the conversation that Atticus and Mr. Cunningham had started.

It was most certainly a weird Wednesday.

**TKAM**

_POV of Cecil Jacobs_

I walked into the house as I waved my friends goodbye with my left hand. My father rushed to find a washcloth as I sat down at the kitchen table. I may have been in fourth grade, but I still wasn't old enough to take care of myself…_apparently_. I sighed, put my chin in my left hand, and let my eyes follow my worried father rush around the house. How on earth would I tell him what happened? Oh, wait…_duh_. I could tell him what I told Scout, Walter and Jem. Pop finally found a washcloth, Petroleum Jelly, and bandages. He dabbed some soap into the wet washcloth and looked at me seriously.

"This may sting a bit, Cecil," he stated, which I nodded to, not caring much.

That is…until it touched me.

"Ow!" I yelped, pulling my arm back quickly. "Sting _a bit_, Pop?"

"'M sorry, son," he apologized, trying to pull my arm back to him, "but you shouldn't 'a taken it so easily. It hurts."

I slowly nodded as I reluctantly gave him my arm back. He gently dabbed the washcloth along my cut, which stung the Sam Hill out of me! I hissed inwardly each time it met my cut. Pop's eyes looked worried as he kept dabbing, which didn't help at all. It was over after at least two minutes, which, with all the pain that was concealed within it, seemed like hours. Pop finally lifted the washcloth from my arm, grabbed the petroleum jelly and showed it to me. I grabbed my arm and held it to my chest protectively.

"No." I stated.

"Cecil—"

"No, Pop," I challenged. "This ain't workin'! It only makes it worse! First you're lettin' soap all over my veins, now you're tryin' to rub jelly on me!"

"Cecil, it's only cold," he countered, "it won't hurt one bit."

I looked down at my arm, then at my father. His eyes were shining with…were those _tears_? Was my father worried for me? Was he afraid? I couldn't look at him. I turned my head back and looked at the sink before finally mustering up some courage to look at him once more.

"Honest?" I inquired.

"Honest." Pop replied.

I sighed and cautiously nodded, holding out my arm quite aversely and unsteadily. He rolled the jelly around the cut, which barely hurt. He then picked up the bandages and gingerly wrapped my arm up. I sighed in relief once it was all over. He then allowed me off the counter and waited for me to put my converse back on my feet. Next thing I knew, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it, Pop," I stated.

"Cecil, you might hurt yourself," he confronted anxiously.

"Openin' a door?" I replied sarcastically.

He sighed, waved his hand dismissively, and looked for shoes and a jacket. I shrugged, walked up to the door, opened it up, and saw none other than Jamielee Zinctin. I smiled at her softly, allowing her in.

"Hey, Jamielee," I greeted her, "How've ya been?"

"Alright I s'pose," she snickered, holding out a tray. "How're _you_?"

"Better," I sighed, holding my arm tenderly, "can't believe that li'l eedgit pulled a knife on me."

"Likewise," she agreed, looking at my arm before handing out her try once more. "So, I told my ma 'bout what happened today. She decided brownies'd be a nice way 'a sayin' how brave you're bein' 'bout all this."

"Aw man," I began, "thanks, Jamielee. Thank your ma, too. Here, follow me."

She did as told, following me into the kitchen. She set the tray of brownies down, whereas I took one. I told her how good they were, which she thanked me for. After a moment or two of silence, we began to talk.

"I didn't tell Scout what really happened," she admitted.

"Thanks," I sighed in relief, "I appreciate it."

"Not a problem," she replied, "but why hide it? It's kinda sweet. He made a joke 'bout Scout, you warned 'im, he insults her even more, you hit 'im, 'n he pulls out a knife. Ya go through all 'a that for her."

"True," I exhaled. "I just don't want her knowin' that. She likes that Dill kid."

She giggled quietly, "He's funny. He's got that duck-fluff hair, short…real funny kid."

"You fallin' for 'im to?" I snapped.

"Nah," she snickered. "Not so into that type. Mary's head-over-heels for ya, though."

"Really," I inquired, "I never noticed. I always thought…_you_ kinda liked me."

She stared at me momentarily before laughing. "Not that I ain't flattered, but you ain't my type, either. I like the quiet, sorta respectin' types."

I smirked, being reminded of Walter. He had a thing for her, didn't he? It started last year…I don't know if he still _did_ like her, though. She left after a few moments. My pop and I had to go to Miss Stephanie's right quick. She'd been dating a doctor lately. As we walked out of the house, Pop held the back of my overalls. It's what he used to do when I was a little one; when I more than likely would have run into the street.

I was thinking about maybe visiting Scout since we were getting so close to her house, anyway. Of course, thinking about something while walking down the street is dangerous with a bad limb…because I bumped into a tree. It made a huge pang go throughout my arm. I hollered and wailed for about three seconds before just growling and kicking the tree. What idiot decides to put cement in a tree, anyhow?

"You alright?" Pop queried, lowering himself to my level.

"Fine," I managed to moan out as I checked over my arm. "Dumb tree…don't like 'em."

"Trees are good, Cecil," he snickered, "you're just angry with this one."

"Yeah…" I growled at it once more. "Prob'ly."

We kept on until we reached Miss Stephanie's place. Lucky for us, she had her boyfriend over. He made me sit on the couch, which I agreed to. He unwrapped the bandages slowly, looking over my arm.

"How'd this happen?" he inquired.

"Raymond Henries pulled a knife on me." I shrugged.

"Oh, sweetie," Miss Stephanie sympathetically said as she ruffled my curls. "Will, is he going to be fine?"

He looked over my arm once more before nodding with a short smile. "He'll be alright. Just do what you've been doing."

"No more soap!" I wailed.

**TKAM**

_POV of Scout Finch_

The following day was slow. Thursdays were always that way. Nellie came to school with a bump on the side of her head, Cecil came with a bandaged up arm, and Walter came in helping Cecil with his books. Sitting alone was getting so boring. All I did was watch Mrs. Everson write on the board, watch Raymond Henries sit in a corner and write "I will not bring weaponry to school" about forty times. So you can imagine how happy I was when my friends came in. The moment Nellie entered, I saw her bump.

"Nellie, you alright?" I queried. "How'd ya get that bump?"

"I'm fine," she replied quickly, "I just hit my head on a tree the way over here. How're you?"

"Fine," I responded slowly.

I was quite unsure of Nellie right then and there.

**Mmk, so this chapter was somewhat short. Only around 1,500 words, but whatever. I promise the next one should be longer! REMEMBER TO TELL ME WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE MORE OF! I've got a fun idea to get away from the drama, but it'll have to be tested out carefully.**

**Thanks for reading! REVIEWS KEEP ME GOING.**


	4. That Cecil Jacobs

**I'm watching Malcolm in the Middle while I write this, so I have NO IDEA if it'll get violent or not. XD **

_**REVIEW RESPONSES:**_

_**PinkyKupkake**_**: Thanks so much for all the reviewing! 8D LOL glad you're wanting to see more of Dill…and Nellie…people. LOL it all ties in ;D **

_**Moveouttathewayitzh**_**: Heya! LOL I don't care if you're a squealing fangirl or a regular fan; it's just nice to know you want more! And don't worry; more Cecil/Scout coming up shortly! ;D**

_**Nightfellows98**_**: Dill/Scout is on the way! Yes, with kissing n stuff ;D Hahahaha…and there IS a big fight. Because what's a romance story WITHOUT a fight over a girl, huh? LOL XD**

**DISCLAIMER:**** I don't own Harper Lee's characters! They're all her own, kk? :) I only own this plot, fic, Nellie Bellesen, Clarence Bellesen, Jamielee Zinctin, Raymond Henries, Mrs. Everson, and Mary Cinders. Thanks for reading, dudes! ;D**

**-[\=/]-**

Again, Thursdays…horrible. Why on earth aren't they Fridays? It's just a gutter ball in your weekend plans. What was weird, though, was the fact that Nellie was hiding something. It was something big, too. Would this have anything to do with what Atticus and Jem were talking about? I had no idea. But I'd find out. It wasn't until lunch that we began to talk to each other.

"I'm sorry about dinner the other day," she apologized. "I didn't think he'd act that way."

"Oh, it's a'right," I stated, pulling out my ham sandwich. "What'd you have to leave for?"

"Just…" she began, but sort of lost her train of thought, "he wanted to…make sure I did my homework."

I cocked a brow before shrugging it off. Nellie was up to something…I just didn't know what it was. I needed to figure it out, because, honestly, it was eating me alive. She was hiding something from me, Cecil was cut across the arm, we had a new bully, Jem was so stressed he couldn't think straight, and, on top of all of that, Dill was gone! All I had at that moment was Walter. He _had_ to pull through. He just had to!

On a brighter note, I finished my letter to Dill. I sent it over to him yesterday. Now all I wanted was a reply. Could Dill please just reply soon? I really needed him. I couldn't go to Atticus with all of this swarming around in my mind, and Jem was too frazzled to focus. After the day was over, Jem got a head start home, and Cecil, Walter, Nellie and I walked toward Miss Rachel's house. I wanted to know when Dill would be back.

"Why're we goin' ta Miss Rachel's place, Scout?" Cecil asked, sort of scratching at his arm. I think he needed to change his bandages.

"I wanna know when Dill's comin' home," I stated as I backpedalled so I could watch him as we went.

"Why do ya care so much 'bout 'im, anyhow?" he retorted. "It ain't like ya'll are married er nothin'."

"We're gonna be," I challenged. "A promise is a promise, Cecil Jacobs!"

He sighed angrily as he confirmed, "I s'pose it is, huh?"

We made it there in no time. I knocked on Miss Rachel's door about two or three times before she came to open it up. She grinned when she saw us, which made me grin back. I introduced her to Nellie because, honestly, she'd never seen her before. I thought that was a bit weird.

"Well, come in!" she insisted. "Now, Cecil Jacobs, I heard a little Henries boy pulled a knife on ya! Is that why your arm's all wrapped up?"

"Yes'um," he nodded.

"I hope you feel better soon," she stated. "Now, what did you need, Scout?"

"Do ya know when Dill'll be back, ma'am? Any time before this summer if it's possible?" I inquired, my eyes probably begging.

"Well, now that I think of it," she began with a smirk, "his mother mailed me sayin' she 'n Dill might be comin' over for Christmastime. Will you be here then?"

"More than likely," I stated with absolute bliss, "Thanks, Miss Rachel!"

"You're quite welcome," she smiled.

**TKAM**

We walked Cecil and Walter to their houses, but I sensed Nellie not wanting to go home. I asked if she'd like to come over, which she agreed to, thanking me about a million times. I laughed as we went on. I don't honestly know why…but I did. She seemed like she needed a good laugh. We went back to my place, entered, and sat down with Jem and Atticus at the dinner table. We invited Cal to sit with us, as well.

"Hello, Nellie," Atticus greeted her with a soft expression.

"Hello," she replied with something of a forced, sad smile.

"How've ya been," Jem inquired carefully.

"Fine," she stated, forcing her smile up an inch. "Just fine."

"Ya sure," I asked, quirking a brow upward at her as I did.

"Mhm," she hummed along in response.

I kept my eye on that bump on her head. There was something about it that just…struck me. There had to be a reason she had been wearing tighter, longer clothes, and a reason behind that bump. Nobody spoke, creating an awkward silence.

"Nellie, did your father give you that bump," Atticus bluntly queried after several minutes.

Her head immediately jolted up. Her eyes grew wider and wider by the second. She shook her head from side to side, tears rimming her eyelids quickly and quietly. She shouted no several times before stopping. Then she looked at Atticus. Nobody in their right mind would lie to Atticus. She closed her eyes and squeezed out a few tears, letting her head hang.

"Yes," she shakily admitted, "yes, he did."

Cal gasped quietly before turning toward Atticus. He began to ask Nellie questions, ones she wouldn't want to ever answer, but she had to. Her mother had died when she was young, but her father blamed her for it. He began to drink large amounts at night, beat her, and act like nothing happened the next morning. First thing Atticus did was tell Nellie that nothing was her fault, then he asked her if she'd be willing to go against him in court.

"I don't think I could do…" she began, but then gained a bit of strength; her eyes changed. "I could."

**TKAM**

Nellie spent the night over at our place, sleeping in my bed as I took the couch. I looked straight at the ceiling the entire night, just thinking. Why would Nellie keep such a secret? She woke up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water. I walked into the kitchen, taking on a glass of water myself. We sat at the table and began a short conversation as silently as we could.

"Nellie," I sighed, "why didn't ya tell me your dad was hurtin' ya?"

She looked a bit glazed over; not from her mind clouding and reaching la-la-land, but from sadness and covering up lies. I stared at her hard, challenging her to answer me truthfully. I hated when people kept secrets from me. Dill kept a secret from me once about he and Jem going fishing every morning for a week without me. I finally caught him and punched him the stomach. He learned not keep secrets from me after that.

"Because," she exhaled sadly, "…look Scout, I was gonna tell ya the night ya'll invited us over for dinner. Then he started it up again and I got even more scared than usual. I don't know what happened. I was so ready to admit he'd been beatin' me, but then something just came over me!"—she began to hyperventilate—"We got home and he started tryna break my nose! His fingernails had at my skin"—she tugged her shirt collar down and showed me several scars—"and nipped it up! He kept punchin' 'n hittin' 'n kickin'! He wouldn't stop! Ever since Mama died, he started drinkin' and became abusive!"

I stared at her in disbelief. Why would anyone…_anyone_ destroy their child? Nellie didn't deserve it; no one did. She stared at me, her breath coming out faster than before, her eyes filled with countless tears; so many of them had already broke out and flooded down her face into rivers that divided up her cheeks. I couldn't stop looking at her. I couldn't bring myself to respond or do anything. I was too shocked.

"Scout," she began, "say something."

"I…" I tried to start, but my voice broke.

I trembled myself as she went on and on about all the terrible things he'd done, her breath quickening each and every time she spoke. I strained to say something, but whenever I tried, I ended up failing. Lucky for me, Jem came into the kitchen for a midnight snack. As soon as he entered through the doorway, Nellie rushed into him for a hug. She needed so much comfort, but I couldn't provide it no matter how much I tried. I wasn't amazing at situations I didn't understand.

Jem looked down at the girl in awe before he looked up and across the room at me with a cocked brow. I shook my head and tried to get something out, but he understood. And Jem was great at helping in sticky situations. She allowed him to her back and let his fingers scroll down her hair. He shushed her, which calmed her down after a few moments of her sobbing it all out. I was surprised Atticus didn't wake up.

**TKAM**

Jem, Nellie and I walked to school the next morning a bit quieter than usual. I was still quite dazed at what Nellie had told me the night before. Jem comforted her every time she spazzed out about it, which wasn't news to me. He was the only one she felt safe around, anyway. Why not let him handle her when I couldn't stand it. Besides, I had other things on my mind.

"Hey Scout," I heard Cecil and Walter holler from a few pavement squares down as they rushed to me.

"Hey!" I yelled gleefully.

Finally, I could get away from the drama. They arrived at my side in less than ten seconds. I looked up at Jem to see if we could head off to school, which he nodded to. I told Nellie I'd meet her in the classroom, which she smiled and nodded at. The guys and I ran about a block ahead of them before we began talking.

"What's been up with Nellie?" Cecil queried as he flopped his bad arm around in an attempt to jab his thumb in Jem and Nellie's direction.

"Her dad's been beatin' her," I sighed sadly, "so she's stayin' with us. Jem seems to be the only one who can help 'er out with it all. I've been too shocked to do much."

"That's terrible," Walter confirmed with wide-eyes. "I thought 'er dad was great from the way she talked the first day."

"She was just tryna to get him seen by someone so she could get help without spillin' the beans," I affirmed. "It sounds weird, I know, but she's one of those people."

The guys and I looked back for what seemed like hours, but only took up about a minute or two. We all exhaled sadly and quietly as our trek to school came to an end. However, we came early. I groaned on account of I hated being there early. What made it worse was the fact that Raymond Henries was there.

I didn't very much like that kid, but Atticus told me to stay calm and nice in tough situations. I would just pretend he wasn't there. Walter followed suit, but Cecil, on the other hand, stared him down angrily as he held onto his arm. Raymond Henries took out his knife and Cecil showed him a rude finger. That made the kid angry, so he slowly approached Cecil, who began to do the same.

"Hey!" I hollered, jumping in front of Cecil in an attempt to stop him. "Nu uh! You ain't fightin' anyone, Cecil Jacobs!"

"Scout," he grunted in an effort to get past me, "move."

"No," I growled.

"What's the matter, Jacobs?" Raymond sniggered. "Can't get past a girl?"

"I could if I wanted to," he huffed in reply.

Luckily, Jem and Nellie showed up just as Cecil walked past me. My big brother approached Cecil and picked him up from behind, to which he struggled.

"Lemme go!" he yelled.

"No," Jem responded. "You already have a bad arm; ya want another?"

Cecil stopped short of struggling as Raymond Henries put his knife back in his pocket and waltzed into the classroom. Cecil watched him until he sat in his desk. I glared at the Jacobs boy and slapped him upside the head. Jem smirked, Nellie stifled a giggle, and Walter chuckled slightly. Cecil held the back of his head and howled in pain. He then looked at me angrily as he flapped his bad arm up and down. I had no idea what he was trying to say with that thing.

"What was that for?" he inquired angrily.

"What do ya think, ya yap?" I sneered. "Don't go getting' into fights, ya hear?"

He frowned at me as he went on to play tetherball. I sighed and shook my head at him. Walter watched the Jacobs child in confusion as Jamielee, Mary, and Little Chuck Little stalked up to us. Cecil played the game all on his own for several moments until Jem, Walter, and Little Chuck decided to join in.

"Dumb boys," I huffed in a whisper and crossed my arms, which made the girls giggle.

**TKAM**

**(POV of Cecil Jacobs)**

Walter was sent home early to go to work. His dad had plans to raise some money with something that would take the world by storm. I had no idea what that could be, but I guess I was all for it. The Cunninghams needed a bit of help to get by, anyway. Nellie and Jem were picked up by Atticus, but not Scout. I wondered what that was all about until it crossed my mind. _"Her dad's been beatin' her, so she's stayin' with us. Jem seems to be the only one who can help 'er out with it all. I've been too shocked to do much."_ That was probably it.

I volunteered to walk her home after school, which she eagerly accepted. I can't say I wasn't happy about it, because it brought me quite a bit of joy. We walked along the sidewalk and just spoke with each other calmly. Scout was one of the few people I could actually do that with. My bad arm was flagging all over the place, which made her give off her signature Scout Finch Smirk.

"What's wrong with your arm," she queried, "it's never still!"

"I keep trying to move it, but it keeps doing what it wants; not what I want."

"Oh," she droned as she nodded.

We walked on until we saw the mailman at her house, which was three homes away. She beamed and dashed over to check it out. I reluctantly ran after her and caught up with her right as she accepted the mail she was given. She waved the mailman off as she opened the envelope addressed to her up. I saw her beam with each word her eyes scanned across. My own orbs rolled before I shook my head.

"He's such a sweetie," she melted as she hugged the letter to herself.

"No one is _that_ roman'ic, Scout," I stated monotonously, deserving a scowl from her.

"Read fer yourself, Cecil Jacobs," she countered as she handed me the letter.

My eyes ran over the words dully.

_Dear Scout,_

_I'm sorry everyone's been counting you out. I'd clue you in on anything I could if I were there. Heck, you're still clued in over here! It's nice to know that Walter's still there for you. And I hope Cecil'll be ok. What on earth could Jem and Atticus be hiding from you? It's not very Atticus-like to hide something from you. Just ask him, I'm sure he'll spill soon enough._

_So, let me get this straight: _

_Cecil and Raymond Henries got in a fight about something you don't know, but it more than likely includes you or Walter._

_Jem, Atticus, and Nellie are all clued in on something that you, _also_ don't know about. _

_And I can't be there. I feel just terrible, Scout. I really do. But, hey, Mom says we're going to Maycomb for Christmas! Please tell me you'll be there and not at your aunt's!_

_With very much love,_

_Dill_

I finished reading with a sad expression across my face. Was I really not cluing her in? Great; I was just sending her farther into Dill's arms. I sighed as I sat on the sidewalk, gesturing for her to sit next to me. She did as told and I handed her letter back to her. She folded it up and stuck it in her overall pocket.

"What did you want to know about?" I inquired as I looked at the sky.

"What were you and Raymond Henries fighting about?" she replied.

I looked at her with a twitched nose as I stated, "He called my friends a few names and I lost my temper."

She looked at me in disbelief.

"What?" I asked somewhat rudely.

"That all," she queried, to which I nodded. "Cecil Jacobs!"

She stood up straight and bored her eyes into mine.

"You got yer arm all cut up for nothin'!"

She whopped my good arm, scratched the top of my head and then walked to her house yelling "This ain't over, Cecil!" before slamming the door behind her. I huffed and walked home, not really wanting to put up with her.

**TKAM**

**(POV of Scout Finch)**

I waited until Cecil was a few blocks away to sneak back outside with a piece of paper, a book, and a pencil. I walked to the Radley porch and began to write my reply to Dill. I set the paper on top of the book, which was settled gently on my lap. A soft smile crossed my lips with each word I scribed.

_Dear Dill,_

_I've just been clued in on the entire Nellie situation. Her father has been completely abusive and drunk for quite a while. Jem and Atticus are the only people she can talk to that have a response. I'm not too great in situations that I can't completely understand. So Nellie's going to be living with us until we can find her a foster family after court. Maybe Miss Stephanie could take her in._

_Anyhow, Cecil Jacobs just told me what is probably half the story of why he did what he did. Apparently, Raymond Henries insulted either Walter or I (he didn't say which) and lost his temper. I honestly don't get anything that's really going on. I can never understand what Nellie's going through, Cecil's never telling me what goes on anymore…but everything should be normal again. _

_Anyways, I believe we're staying home for Christmas. I haven't been able to ask Atticus yet, but he hasn't talked about Aunt Alexandra for a while, so it's a safe bet that we're staying in Maycomb. I can't wait to see you!_

_Love,_

_Scout_

I proofread my letter and stuck it neatly in my overall strap. Before I knew it, Boo Radley was sitting next to me. I looked at him with pure surprise covering my complexion. A smile crossed my lips slowly as I watched his face turn to me slowly.

"Hi Mr. Arthur," I said. "Sorry; do I need to get off yer porch?"

He shook his head silently and stared at me. I stared right back, but not rudely. I leaned back, exhaling calmly, and watched the clouds. He did the exact same. I giggled before looking back at him with a smile. He was funny.

"What're ya doin' out here?" I inquired gently, "I thought ya never left your house."

"Only sometimes," he said in a raspy, calm voice. I could tell he didn't speak much.

I nodded quietly before hugging my knees to my chest. I had so much on my mind and I needed someone in my presence to talk to. Would Mr. Arthur understand at all? It wasn't that Dill wouldn't be able to understand, it was just that I needed him right there to talk to.

"Mr. Arthur," I began, "can I ask you something?"

He nodded slowly.

"Well," I started up, "Dill Harris, Miss Rachel's nephew, went away a few days ago. And, ya know, we had that practice wedding a while back, remember?"

Again, he nodded. I offered an even bigger smile, however, it was an awfully sad one.

"Well, ever since 'e went back, one 'a my best friend, Cecil Jacobs, has been acting awfully odd. He beat up a bully at our school, who cut his arm terribly, for talkin' bad 'bout either me or Walter Cunningham. I don't know what made his temper suddenly go outta whack and he won't tell me why. Then my new friend, Nellie Bellesen, is stayin' at our house because her dad's abusin' her. I'm tryin' to help her out, but I just don't understand. I can't take all of it in at once. Ya know what I mean?"

He bobbed his head up and down slowly, but surely. I gave him a look that mixed of timidity, happiness and sadness. I looked back at the sky for a few seconds before return my stare to him.

"Anyhow," I continued, "what am I s'pposed ta do, Mr. Arthur? I'm only a fourth grader! Everything's just cuttin' at me, tryin' to wipe me outta the picture or somethin'. What am I to do?"

He smiled and looked at me with a face that I couldn't comprehend. After a few moments of deciphering his expression, I knew what he was telling me. I stood up slowly, gave him a ginormous hug and waved at him as I backpedaled to my own home. I entered the house, snuck an envelope, carefully wrote my address and copied Dill's down, licked a stamp to it, and stuck the letter in.

I walked back outside and stuck it in the mailbox before going back to the Radley house. Mr. Arthur was one I could talk to forever.

**TKAM**

**(POV of Dill Harris)**

**FOUR DAYS LATER**

"Charles," I heard Mom call, "you have a letter."

I rushed into the den and obtained my letter, waiting for Scout's response. I tore the envelope open and immediately read the letter she sent over. I sat at the kitchen table as my smile slowly became an angry frown. I couldn't believe it. Someone was trying to take away my Scout. She didn't know it, though. I always thought I could (sort of) trust Cecil. Now it all made sense. He wanted my fiancée. All I ever wanted was for Scout to be happy, and according to her, I always brought her that happiness she craved. What if somebody else did?

In all honesty, if Cecil Jacobs began to make her happy, then I would have no choice but to step back. I loved her too much to make her unhappy. Or even worse…take _away_ that happiness. However, I wouldn't go down without a quick fight.

"That Cecil Jacobs…"

**A/N: OOOOOOOOOOO. Looks like we gonna have a boi fight soon, ladies! ;D Who're you betting your money on? I have something of a plot in mind for who the winner will be and how this whole thing plays out, but I'm still working on it. 83**

**Now, I understand this has a bit of suspense in it…Tell me which question you'd like me to type up first. :3**

**What Boo told Scout (which is still pending in my mind, so…look out ^w^")?**

**What Dill's planning to do?**

**What the Cunningham invention will be?**

**WILL JEM AND NELLIE BE AN ITEM? D8 Possibly. XD idk yet.**

**When's the trial?**

**Will Cecil be ok?**

**LOL sorry kiddies, but you'll have to read to figure out all of these cliffies! ;D**

**TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT MORE OF! Or which question you'd like to come first :3**

**I love you guys! **


	5. Tired and Scared

**Hey ya'll! 8D Got quite a few requests to continue and go a bit quicker than usual, which I honestly can't argue with. I make too many promises about updating ^^; **

**DISCLAIMER: Do I LOOK like Harper Lee? =.=" Nah…didn't think so. ANYWAYS…I own Nellie, Jamielee, and Mary. ;3**

**TKAM**

**(Scout's POV)**

"Smile, it's Saturday!" I beamed blissfully at Cecil.

"Shut it," he snapped at me finally.

He, Nellie, Jamielee, Mary, Little Chuck Little, Jem, Walter, and I had been drawing with sidewalk chalk all day long. Cecil was being so unbearable all day. I had no clue whatsoever as to what was going on with him. He was just being so…bratty, I suppose. I don't know what made him so upset, but it had been going on since the day before, when he read Dill's letter. I apologized for yelling at him. He forgave me and said everything was fine, but he still decided to be a grump.

"Don't talk ta my sister that way, Jacobs," Jem warned in a mutter.

I flashed a smirk his way and then stuck my tongue out at Cecil. Oh, how I loved to do this to him. It made him so angry! I mean, he was already angry, but this was _friendly_ angry, ya know? Anyhow, he just rolled his eyes, sighed, and began to color in his dragon. I smiled at it as Walter drew his line straight toward the heart I drew on the sidewalk. He stopped right as the line was about to connect with the oh-so-known shape and looked at me sheepishly, asking for permission with his eyes. I nodded with a toothy grin, which he returned as he linked the two.

"Who's the heart for?" Cecil asked out of the blue.

"Who d'ya think?" I laughed slightly as I replied.

He rolled his eyes and hissed out "Dill."

"What's yer problem with Dill?" I inquired incredulously.

He just shrugged as he drew several circles around the dragon. I wrote "CBH + JLF" in the heart and smiled contently. Jamielee came over my way and gushed over my drawing.

"Is it fer that Dill kid?" she queried, which I nodded to. "You must love him a ton, huh, Scout?"

"Yep," I nodded, "we're getting married when we're older, too."

I could just _feel_ Jem and Cecil rolling their eyes as the words escaped my mouth. I resisted the urge to poke my tongue out at either one as Jamielee poked Walter's line. She followed the shocks he had created and found that they were connected to a picture of a cat Walter had drawn. I have no idea where the line came from, but he did a very good job.

Before I knew it, Mary was on Cecil's picture like a cat on a mouse. She was giggling as she popped the fake bubbles he had strewn around the dragon in chalk. I smirked, knowing what Mary was up to. She liked Cecil so much, it was outstanding, really. Nellie came up to me, too. She had been getting better from before, truthfully. She no longer had puffy eyes or cried twenty-four-seven. She was like the Nellie from the first day of school. She sat on the curb and watched me draw a picture of Dill. Her smile lengthened quite a bit with every stroke I made.

"What'ssa matter, Nellie?" I asked cautiously.

"Nothin'," she replied, shaking her head as she did so. "I'm just watchin' ya draw."

"Oh," I nodded my head as I droned out.

Atticus walked out the door to all of us drawing colorful designs across the pavement. He chuckled as he laid his eyes on my drawing. He then cleared his throat like the professional lawyer he is. As if on cue, all of our heads bolted up at him.

"The trial of Clarence Bellesen will be held next Saturday," he announced, "alright everyone?"

"Yes sir," we all replied with a single bob of our heads.

He nodded as he walked to his car and pulled out of the driveway. We all stood up and walked about a yard away from our creation. A wide grinned was pressed upon my face as I stared at the splash of color that covered our pavement. It was so cool! After a while, Jem pulled out the hose and washed everything away. Once everything was cleaned up, I walked to Mr. Arthur's house. Everyone else stopped right at the sidewalk, not daring to come any closer.

"What's the matter, y'all?" I probed.

"Are ya crazy?" Jamielee inquired back.

"Ya have a death wish er somethin'?" Little Chuck queried.

Jem rolled his eyes and joined me. He stood at my side as I knocked on the tattered aperture. I waited a good ten minutes for someone to exit, but nothing happened. I sighed in dismay as Jem clapped my shoulder, telling me it was ok. We walked back to the others just as the door creaked. I looked back to see who it was, but found nothing but an old, gray cat. I sighed dejectedly as I came closer to it. I was just about to scoop it up as Cecil grabbed my bent elbows.

"What?" I snapped.

"You ain't pickin' up some random cat!" he jeered. "Sheesh, Scout, have some brains every now and then, won't ya?"

I tried to escape his grasp to pick up the cat that was now caressing itself along my legs, begging to get petted. I got one arm loose just as someone walked in front of me and lifted up the old feline. Cecil gulped when he realized who it was. However, I beamed as if there was no tomorrow.

"Hey Mr. Arthur!" I greeted him joyfully.

"Hello," he replied quietly.

"Is that yer cat?" I inquired, to which he nodded. "Can I pet it?"

"Yes," he smiled softly as he bent down on one knee.

"Thanks," I replied, running my hand across its smooth back. "What's its name?"

"Tom," he stated quietly.

"Hey there, Tom," I giggled. "Anyhow, I came to tell ya thank you for the idea, Mr. Arthur. And the Clarence Bellesen trial's next Saturday. If ya can't make it, but wanna hear 'bout it, I could tell ya all 'bout it the day after. If ya want, I mean."

He smiled tenderly as he poked my hand and said "I'd like that."

I nodded, hugged his right leg, and ran off to the rest of the gang. I had to tug Cecil along with me. I supposed he was just in some sort of daze. He knew I hung around the Radley house, but I don't think he knew I ever _talked_ to Boo. So, I dragged him away from the porch, waving to Mr. Arthur as I did so, and met up with the others. We walked down to Miss Stephanie's house so Cecil could get checked up again. And, honestly, with eight kids all walking toward Miss Stephanie's house, you'd think they'd have some sort of gossip to give her.

"Miss Stephanie," I droned the name out as I knocked on her door.

She opened after a moment or two with a smile gracing her face. "Hey, y'all! What brings you here?"

"Is Dr. Will there?" Cecil queried, holding his arm. "I think it's time for my arm to be checked up again."

"Yes sir, he is," she replied as she bobbed her head up and down. "Come on in!"

We walked in one-by-one and sat in the living room. Dr. Will came out of the kitchen with his actual doctor kit! He ushered Cecil into the dining room as the rest of stayed behind.

"So, Scout," Jamielee began, "has Dill sent ya any letters yet?"

"Nah," I shook my head, "I just sent 'im my reply letter yesterday. I don't think he'll get it for a few days."

"Ah," she nodded her head as she returned her attention to Mary.

I held my eye on Walter, who was drawing something on a piece of paper. Cecil mentioned he'd been working on an invention with his dad. After a moment or so, he was finished. I waltzed over to the chair he sat in and leaned on the arm of it, inspecting what he had doodled. It was something like a juicer, but a bit easier to use.

"That's real neat, Walter," I smiled.

"Thanks, Scout," he beamed, "it's just simpler juicer. Pop 'n I are workin' on it."

"Good luck with it," I replied with a toothy grin.

He nodded just as Cecil walked in, his arm moving a bit better than usual. I beamed as he gently lifted the lightest pillow Miss Stephanie had. After we thanked them, we walked back to my house. This would be a harsh week, so we had to make it last.

**TKAM**

That week was certainly full of surprises. Cecil's arm had gotten better, Dill's letter was sent to me by Friday, which made my day. It was the day before the trial and I didn't want to write to him before it, so I had to resist the urge to do so at all times. Cal was on watch-Scout-so-she-doesn't-talk-to-Dill-even-once duty, which helped quite a bit. Every time I picked up a pen, she was on me like mud on a pig.

Nellie was much better and much more confident. We all (Atticus, Jem, Cal, and I) pitched in when it came to helping her face her father during court. Atticus gathered every bit and piece of information from her. The trial was only one day away…none of us could believe it.

**TKAM**

**(POV of Jem Finch)**

I was about to fall asleep when I realized that I just couldn't. A sigh escaped my lips as I dragged myself into Scout's room. Nellie was fast asleep, probably dreaming of fairies and sugarplums…or of knives and alcohol. She wasn't stirring, so I decided to just leave the room quietly. When I walked into the kitchen, I peeked my head out the door and saw Scout holding Mom's pearls. What was she doing?

"Hey, Mama," she whispered quietly. "I know I don't speak 'bout ya often enough. I write to Dill more than I talk ta you. Anyway, let me update. Boo Radley is now Mr. Arthur. He ain't scary or nothin'; he saved Jem and I from Bob Ewell. He's very nice. But now there's this new man in Maycomb; Clarence Bellesen. He's got a daughter named Nellie. He abused her and now the trial's bein' held tomorrow. Nellie's real scared, so tell God to look after her with me, ok? And Dill. And Cecil Jacobs's arm is better. Much better. Tell God that I love Him while I pray, ok?"

That was about the time I walked in. She had put the pearls on the table, clasped her hands together and bowed her head. I decided to do the same as we said our night prayer together. You know, "Now I lay me down to sleep…" That one. We'd been saying it since we were little. After we prayed, Scout went to the couch and I tucked her in. Atticus was in his room, studying over what he would say the following day. All I wanted was to see my father in action and to see Nellie be safe. I didn't want any more terrible parents. I didn't want any kids to be abused. All I wanted was for everyone to be safe. With Atticus Finch as lawyer, you knew something would go from wrong to right in a split second.

"Gosh," I whispered as Scout slowly drifted into dream land, "I sure hope everything goes right tomorrow."

And with that, I walked into my room, said a few prayers of my own and climbed in my bed. I sang myself to sleep quietly; the sound of Scout humming when she colored went off in my head, which caused me to drift off leisurely.

**Mmk, trial's tomorrow, then what will Scout do about her guy-trouble, hmmmmm? ;D**

**BTW. FOR SCOUT'S HUMMING THAT WENT OFF IN JEM'S HEAD:**** Remember the beginning of the movie when Scout was humming away while she colored in "To Kill a Mockingbird"? Exactly. :3 Tried to find it on youtube, but no one had it. =.="**

**Anyways, I hope you're liking this! I know this chapter had a bit of Christianity in it, but I'm a Christian, the Finchs went to church in the book…there ya go. XD So, here are the remaining questions:**

**What did Boo tell Scout (which is still pending in my mind, so…look out ^w^")?**

**What's Dill's planning to do?**

**WILL JEM AND NELLIE BE AN ITEM? D8 (Possibly. XD idk yet.)**


	6. Jealousy

**Mmk, I realize the last chapter got like…NO REVIEWS (fine, I see how it is…XD), but ok. :3 I know it was kind of a filler chapter. I did get ONE REVIEW, but I'm totally fine with that! OwO **

**I am TERRIBLY sorry for the lateness! D8**

_**BTW: I'LL BE UPDATING MORE NEXT WEEK OR THE WEEK AFTER THAT! SO BE ON THE LOOK OUT, AND DON'T FORGET TO ALERT! PLEASE AND THANK YOU! 8D**_

_**EVERYONE REMEMBER TO THAN THE UN-WANTED ANGEL FOR THE DILL/CECIL/SCOUT MOMENT HERE! ;D**_

**DISCLAIMER:**** Do I LOOK like Harper Lee? =.=" Nah…didn't think so. ANYWAYS…I own Nellie, Jamielee, and Mary. ;3**

**TKAM**

**(Scout's POV)**

The day finally came and we were ready. Nellie was a bit nervous at first, but everything went according to plan. She ended up having more wounds than any of us could have ever imagined. Clarence Bellesen deserved every gawk, glare, and scowl he received. Quite a number of them came from Jem and I. Trust me, when Jem's angry at you, it's best to stay out of his way.

Nellie stayed strong until the end, when Mr. Bellesen proved her point at the witness stand. He sat there (looking a bit drunk in all fairness) and denied just about everything. Tears brimmed his daughter's eyes, but she held strong. However, the intensity in the atmosphere got to the drunk, abusive man and he stood up. He was ready to speak.

"She deserved it!" he exclaimed. "Day after day, she'd show off 'er school books! She'd ask fer _food_ with _money_ that _I_ owned! I earned! Not 'er! That b***h should die n' rot in the underworld from which she came!"

Not even _I_, Scout Finch, would be able to take that. What father would wish their child eternal damnation? That was just cruel and wrong. Jem held a grip on the wooden bar in front of him and just wouldn't let go. Nellie began to cry her eyes out; her palms were the only tissue she could obtain at that moment. Her sobs were silent, but the entire courtroom was as mute as a cemetery at that point. All you could hear were the cries of the shunned Bellesen.

"Clarence Bellesen," Judge Taylor began, shaking his head at the sad-excuse-for-a-man, "you are sentenced to three years in prison. Eleanor Mildred Bellesen,"—Nellie looked up; her cheeks stained with tear tracks—"you may stay with the Finch family until there is a foster family available."

"Y-Yes sir," she said silently back.

After this, Clarence was sent in a screaming rage to prison. The door shut and everyone exited the building. Our neighbors, Atticus, Jem, our friends, and I all walked up to Nellie. Miss Stephanie offered her a tissue, which she happily accepted. Jem held out his arms and she rushed into them. It was finally over.

**TKAM**

Months passed and Nellie still lived with us. It may have been December, but love was in the air. Dill was back! He and I were out in the yard when he pulled out a bottle. He smiled at me and tapped the pavement with his bottle gingerly. I gave him a cocked brow.

"What?" I inquired.

"I learned a game up north called 'spin the bottle,'" he stated as he let the bottle set on the sidewalk. "Sit across from me, Scout."

"Sure," I shrugged and did as told. "Now what?"

"Now, we just—"

"Hey Scout," Cecil cut him off as he sat between Dill and I.

"Hey Cecil," I smiled. "How're you?"

"A'right," he shrugged as he turned to Dill. "Hey Dill. What're ya'll doin'?"

"I was _trying_ to teach Scout a new game," he stated somewhat angrily.

I was completely let out of some sort of loop. Lately, Dill _and_ Jem had been keeping an eye on Cecil, while Jem also teamed up with _Cecil_ to keep an eye on _Dill_. It was getting terribly odd and I didn't like it one bit. I shook my head as the two boys began to argue. What was so special that made them fight like Mary and Jamielee do when they want the same swing? I stood up and stamped my foot on the bottle carefully enough to keep it intact, but hard enough to make a loud noise. That got their attention.

"Ya'll both shut it, alright?" I hollered. "Now, either ya'll are gonna get along, or I'ma find Nellie and Jem to play with instead! You want the first option or the second one?"

They nodded as they both said "The first." This made me smile as I sat back down. Dill handed the bottle to Cecil, who spun it. Dill wasn't expecting it to land on me (somehow). Cecil smirked, apparently knowing how to play this game. I looked back at Dill and cocked my head to the right.

"Now what?" I queried.

"Now…" Cecil trailed off as he began to move closer to me.

"Hey!" Dill shouted as he jumped between the two of us. He sat in front of my and shoved Cecil away. "You ain't playin' right! I meant the truth or dare version!"

I had a feeling that wasn't how it was supposed to begin. Was Dill lying? I shoved Dill into Cecil and walked toward the Radley house. Maybe Boo—or, Mr. Arthur—could talk to me. Besides, I hadn't really told him much about the trial. I kept getting him at the wrong time. I smiled as I walked up the path to his home and wheeled my feet around to face the pavement leading to the porch.

**TKAM**

**(Dill's POV)**

"Is she crazy?" Cecil inquired as he watched my beloved walk up to the house.

I rolled my eyes and shoved him into the grass. I stood up, dusting myself off, and then stuck my tongue out at him before handing out a helping hand. As soon as he accepted it and stood up with me, I regretted it. I didn't even _like_ Cecil Jacobs. He was trying to steal my Scout! Plus, he was taller than me. Only by a few inches! I'd grown quite a bit since the last time I was in Maycomb.

"Boo Radley saved hers and Jem's lives once, ya eejit," I stated bluntly as I added a "tch" to the end of my sentence. "Some friend _you_ are. Ya don't even know the guy who saved her life."

"Oh shut up," Cecil snapped. "Like _you're_ ever 'round ta talk to her when she needs help. She usually comes to me." He finished that sentence off quite cockily, which made me livid. I _really_ didn't like him.

"Liar," I countered. "She writes me all the time 'bout her problems. I _am_ her fiancée after all. By the way, _you_ go to _her_; not the other way around. And she likes to talk to old Arthur over there."

I tuned Cecil's next bickering comment out. All I did was watch my fiancée talk with the infamous Boo Radley on the front porch. She looked so upset; had _I_ caused that? Would she stop being so angry if Cecil and I started getting along better? I watched Scout swing her legs and look up; her mouth going ten miles a second. Mr. Arthur just listened and nodded his head, silently understanding every word she said…whatever word she said. She stopped talking for about ten seconds and looked back at Mr. Arthur. She wore a soft smile, and said the only thing that I could read off her lips.

"Thank you," she said with that beautiful grin she held on her face.

Mr. Arthur nodded, gave her a hug and went back inside. Scout waved until she couldn't see him any longer and walked back to us quietly. Cecil stopped complaining (gosh, how much mud was he slinging at me?) the moment he saw Scout walk our way. She picked the bottle up and held my hand. I'd been waiting for that all first semester. Cecil walked up to Scout's house with us and entered right before us. He sat at the dinner table with Jem, Nellie, Jamielee, and Walter. Walter and I seemed to get along quite well. Cecil and I started out like that, but then he tried to take my fiancée away from me.

That didn't flow well with me.

"Hello," Scout greeted everyone. "How're ya'll?"

"Well enough," Jamielee decided in a giggle.

She made me laugh. I had to remember that I wasn't Scout's _only_ summer buddy this year. Golly, she had more than just the people at that table! Jamielee and Cecil left early because of his arm acting up again. Walter decided it was high-time he left, too. That left Jem, Nellie, Scout and I. We decided to play Go Fish.

**TKAM**

**(Jem's POV)**

As I dealt the cards, I couldn't help but think of what was going on with Cecil and Scout. He _knew_ that Scout was Dill's "fiancée." Sure, it may not have been real marriage stuff, but he knew how crazy they were about each other. He had no right to intervene. If he really _did_ like her as much as he led on, he'd be fine with her and Dill being together. So long as she was happy.

"Jem," Scout snapped me out of my thoughts, "ya gave us each fifteen cards."

I sighed as I held out my hand and said "Each of ya, give back eight."

They did as told. It was so nice to be the eldest kid in the house. I smirked as I watched Dill try to calm down. Boys fighting over Scout; never thought I'd see the day.

**TKAM**

**(Cecil's POV)**

"You're so dumb," Jamielee stated with a cackle.

"It ain't funny, Jamielee!" I growled, holding my arm somewhat-tightly. "I don't care if he liked 'er first, I'm pretty darn sure I like 'er better than he does!"

"Take it easy," she attempted to calm me down as she rolled her eyes. "I don't think it matters. He really likes 'er, ya know. She likes him back. Deal with it, Cecil."

I just about hollered at her, but all my rage was focused on Dill. That little hole. He deserved to be thrown in a ditch. I liked her! She just _had_ to like me back. She had to! Suddenly, my arm felt a sharp pang run through it and I hissed inwardly. Jamielee grabbed my good arm and dragged me down to her house. She rushed through the door and pushed me onto her sofa.

"Ma!" she hollered. "Ma, I need you to take a look at Cecil's arm!"

Mrs. Zinctin rushed into the living room with bandages and all sorts of medicinal items. She grabbed a hold of my arm and began squeezing it in every which way. "Does it hurt here?" "Is it here?" "How about here?" She wouldn't give me time to answer! All I could do was wince, shake, hiss, and growl a loud "Ouch!" Mrs. Zinctin finally stopped and unstrapped my old bandages. She washed out my wound quickly, despite my loud, disgruntled hollering, which was just me shouting "Stop!" and a bounty of other angry words at her. She whopped some bandages over my wound in a flat ten seconds. By the time she was done, a bead of sweat fell from my forehead.

"Why on earth," I began to scream, "would ya _do_ that, Mrs. Zinctin?"

"Well, you were hurtin', weren't ya?" she inquired angrily as she rose from the floor with her things. "You're welcome, Mr. Jacobs!"

"Thank you," I hurriedly replied as she left the room. I turned around and saw Jamielee smirking at me. "What?"

"You're just so-o-o-o-o dumb!" she laughed.

I took that to great offense. I sulked back into the couch and pouted. She could be such a pain sometimes! She stopped laughing enough to grab a book off her shelf and sit next to me. She snuggled in closely and smirked, which made me blush just a tiny bit. I didn't mind Jamielee; I realized she cared about me, but what on earth was her deal? She never minded getting close to people, which, in all honesty, wasn't necessarily a _bad_ thing, but it made her just a tiny bit more anti-social and awkward to be around.

"So what book did you get this time?" I asked with a quick sigh. The red was quickly fading from my face. She was just being Jamielee.

"Silly, you should know by now," she giggled, showing me the cover. It was another Laura Ingalls Wilder book. By the way Jamielee read her books, that girl _had_ to be famous. Or, at least _become_ famous. "Now,"—she opened the book to the first page and smiled brightly—"here we go."

"Go on," I replied. She beamed and did so. And as she kept reading, I leaned on the arm of the couch and gave her a small, soft smile.

**TKAM**

**(Scout's POV)**

Later that night, I decided I wasn't angry at Dill anymore. I didn't know what on earth had gotten into him, but he was sure keeping an eye on Cecil; probably more so than Jem was. Speaking of Jem, he was with Nellie inside whilst Dill and I were in the backyard. We were looking at the sky and talking about ideas. I don't know why, but it always intrigued me when we shared our ideas and dreams.

"So, does Jamielee like Cecil, Walter, or Little Chuck?" Dill inquired, still looking at the sky.

"She told me a while back that she liked Walter, but things can change," I shrugged. "I mean, she hangs out with Cecil much more than Walter er Little Chuck. I mean, at school, she 'n' Mary are _always_ with Chuck, but after school, when Cecil ain't with me, she walks him home to make sure he gets there safe."

He looked at me curiously, "Gets there safe? Ain't that the boy's job?"

"Yeah, but his arm's all messed up."

"Ah," he replied, nodding as he did. "Scout, ya said things can change, right?"

"Right," I responded, "why?"

"Well, do ya still…ya know…wanna get married when we're all grown up?" he queried.

I looked at him incredulously. What on earth was going on with everyone lately? I hated being in fourth grade! Everyone seemed to know what was going on except for me! I tugged at my short hair and fell back onto the grass dramatically. After a few seconds of breathing in and out in an attempt to calm myself down, I sat back up. Dill looked at me with an arched brow before scooting closer and patting my back.

"You ok?" he asked.

"No!" I replied a bit too angrily. He was taken aback and scooted away again. I sighed, hugged him, and went back to sitting down. "It just seems that I've been left out lately. I'm so behind on everything! Of course I still wanna get married, Dill. Why would ya think I wouldn't?"

"I'm a li'l…I dunno," he sighed. "I think I'm just—"

**TKAM**

**(Jem's POV)**

"Jealous," I snickered as I talked to Nellie. "The two are so jealous, it's becoming hilarious!"

"I dunno, Jem," Nellie replied, "it's become a bit out of hand. Dill and Cecil'll be fightin' any day now. Just you wait."

"Meh, I'll be ready to back one of 'em up," I laughed, "just you wait, Nellie Bellesen."

She giggled as we guzzled down our glasses of milk.

**TKAM**

**(Scout's POV)**

"You're jealous?" I queried as I giggled. "That's so odd, Dill! Why would ya ever be jealous of Cecil? I don't like him; I like you!"

"Thank goodness," he sighed in relief as he pecked me on the cheek. "I'm glad."

"Dill!" Ms. Rachel called. "It's time to come home!"

"Yes'm!" he shouted back as he stood up. "Bye Scout."

"Bye," I replied as he hopped the fence and dashed over to Ms. Rachel's house. After he left, I sighed and spent a moment more outside. I couldn't believe he was jealous. Why would Cecil Jacobs even like me? I laughed quietly as I walked inside. I searched for Jem, hugged him goodnight (same with Nellie) and went to Atticus. "Atticus, I'll be goin' to bed now."

"Alright," he replied with a smile.

I walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek before I rushed to my bedroom. I was so tired. What a day.

**-\[=]/-**

IMPORTANT!

**I am SO SORRY about this being late! I completely forgot what to do with the rest of the story once it came to be Cecil's turn to have a POV! XD; please forgive me! Anyway, the next chapter MIGHT be up soon. I'm not sure when, though, so no promises! **

_**HERE'S WHAT YOU GUYS CAN REVIEW! Tell me who your favorite FC is and if you want to see more of just them, or more of them with someone ;D**_

**I hope this gave you a little more insight to Cecil, Jamielee, Dill, (possibly Jem and Nellie), and, most especially, Scout! So, Scout's FINALLY getting there! Someone will tell Scout something she so desperately wants to know, but that'll take some thinking ;D **

**So, I'm pretty much done with Nellie (PRETTY MUCH. Not completely. She's still in here, just not as much.), so that leaves my other FCs: Jamielee and Mary! You'll see what I do with them! (insert evil face here)**

_**BY THE WAY: HERE'S WHAT YOU GUYS CAN REVIEW! Tell me who your favorite FC is and if you want to see more of just them, or more of them with someone ;D**_

**Love ya'll! Night 8D**


	7. Let the Boy Fights Commence!

**Welp, it's finally here…a chapter all about the boys. *giggles* DILL VS. CECIL. It's all out boy fights for quite a few of these next chapters, ladies! ;D **

_**BY THE WAY: HERE'S WHAT YOU GUYS CAN REVIEW! Tell me who your favorite FC is and if you want to see more of just them, or more of them with someone ;D**_

**DISCLAIMER****: Do I LOOK like Harper Lee? =.=" Nah…didn't think so. ANYWAYS…I own Nellie, Jamielee, and Mary. ;3**

**TKAM**

**(Cecil's POV)**

When I woke up, I was at my house…on the couch…with Pop in the chair across from me. He was still asleep, but in his hands were long strands of bandages with a first aid kit in his lap. I looked at my arm, which was finally getting better. I smiled softly just a bit before I rose from my spot. It had to be at least six in the morning. I shook Pop awake, and he responding by jolting up, looking around and shouting, "What? What'sa matter?"

I rolled my eyes, and replied with, "Pop, nothin'. I just waked up. Where's Mom?"

He finally regained his composure after several minutes. He always woke up that way; thinking someone had broken in and tried to kill one of us. He was a nice dad, but he could be quite paranoid in situations. This time, he became himself faster than usual. He laughed when he looked down at me trying to grab the bandages out of his hands. He picked my fourth-grade body up and set me down on the counter. This was normal, so I just sat there with my head in my palm as I swung my legs back and forth. Then I heard the sink turn on.

I became suspicious when he drowned a rag in soap and deluged the thing with warm water. I arched an eyebrow as he turned the sink off and rung out the rag. I knew right then and there that the soap was coming. Man, I _hated_ this! That stupid Raymond Henries! I'll kill him! Well, I'll kill _Dill_ first, but Raymond was definitely next. Pop's voice broke my thoughts of assassination, and when I saw the rag coming toward me, I backed away with on my hands. The pressure was sent from my hands to my arm, which was still wounded terribly.

"Ouch!" I barked, immediately grasping ahold of my arm and hissing. Pop took this chance to grab my arm and dab it with the soapy water. I growled at him and sat in my previous position; head in my palm. I had gotten used to this by now, but I absolutely hated it. It hurt less as we went along, but it still made me angry. I sighed and asked again, "So, where's Mom?"

"Workin'," he sighed, taking the rag away from my arm. "She'll be home around four."

Mom was a librarian. She was always stamping books and leaving me at home with Pop. I liked going to work with her, though. However, she said it stressed her out to have me there; it involved having to keep an eye on me, but also work at the same time. I supposed I understood. After Pop bandaged me up (finally), he patted me on the back, stating I could get down. Pop worked, too, but he only went to work after I had gone over to either Scout, Walter, or Jamielee's house.

"Go on, Cecil," Pop smiled, "get dressed and I'll walk you down to the correct block."

"Yes sir," I replied with a nod.

I walked into our tiny bathroom, turned on the sink faucet, and shoved my head in. I always reserved the bath for Mom and Pop. I took my baths at night. I scrubbed my hair with shampoo and rinsed it out in a good few minutes. I then dried my hair with a towel and dashed to my bedroom. I hurriedly changed my shirt and overalls. I then threw on some socks and shoes and walked into the living room to meet up with Pop. He smiled and walked me out the door. Pop was always ready for work; I was never truly sure what he did, though. I just knew that he worked, made money, and got us along.

"So, whose house are ya gonna go to today?" he inquired as we walked down the pavement.

"Scout's," I stated with a shrug, "she's got that fiancée 'a hers over and I haven't gotten ta know 'im much. Plus, Jamielee and Walter'll prob'ly come over, anyhow."

Pop chuckled and shook his head. Nevertheless, we continued walking. He got me to Scout's block, hugged me goodbye, and walked his way to work. I stepped past the Radley house, Ms. Stephanie's, and Ms. Rachel's, etcetera, etcetera…I frowned when I got to Mrs. Dubose's old house. It was pretty upsetting that she had passed away, but some of her flowers were still there. I picked up a bright, yellow camellia, smiling at it. Scout would like a flower, wouldn't she? I decided, yes, she would. However, when I walked up to Scout's porch, I saw Dill sitting there. But Scout was gone…and Dill was holding a green tulip. He looked up at me and frowned.

"Why're _you_ here?" I asked.

"I wanted ta say hi to my beloved," he replied. I rolled my eyes. I never understood why girls fell for that kind of junk. Jamielee said she would vomit if a boy ever treated her like an absolute queen the way Dill does. She was always going on about how she was a person, not a baby. "Why're _you_ here?"

"Same reason," I stated, rolling my eyes once again. I sat on the porch next to him, admiring the camellia I had picked. Then I looked at Dill. I had told Pop I wanted to get to know him, didn't I? I sighed as I began to speak to him. "Dill, I don't _want_ to be mad at ya, but it's just so hard not to! Do ya get what I'm sayin'?"

He kept glaring at me for about thirty seconds more, but then he suddenly stopped. He sighed at himself and looked at me sadly. He then looked me in the eyes, preparing to tell the truth. "I get ya. I just…why do you like my Scout? She's mine and she's happy with me. I just want you to stop trying to take her from me."

And just like that, I became angry with him again. We started arguing so loud and haughtily that we stood up and began hollering at each other. Before we knew it, we heard a door slam behind us. We shut up and twisted to an angry Jem Finch. His hands were on his hips. That is, they _were_ until he decided a better job for his hands would be dragging us by our collars and down to the front lawn.

"I've got two girls sleepin' in there!" he meant to yell, but it just came out as a very, angrily set, viciously toned statement. "What are ya'll doin' now?"

"He started it!" we yelled at the same time. Our eyes widened and we turned around to growl at each other. Just then, Mary, Walter, Jamielee, and Little Chuck walked up. I was beginning to think everyone had been sleeping over at someone's house. Jem just stared at Dill and I, wondering what would happen. Suddenly, Dill pounced me! That little, hole! I shoved him off, only multiplying the pressure in my arm that jolted up the pain. I screamed for about two seconds straight and squinted my eyes shut. Then, I kicked Dill in the shoulder, which bought me a few seconds. I then began to punch him in his chest. He grunted every time in absolute pain.

"What on earth…?" Jamielee giggled. "Didn't think it'd get _this_ outta hand."

When Dill moved his feet up to my chest and shot me into the air and onto the ground about a foot away, Mary squeaked and grabbed ahold of Walter. He was too busy watching the fight to notice, though. Dill and I both stood up and rushed at each other. It was full out blows to the stomach and head between the two of us. A minute later, Little Chuck had grabbed ahold of my arms and locked them behind my back whilst Jem did the same to Dill.

"What is _wrong_ with ya'll?" Little Chuck inquired. "It's a girl! Who fights over a girl?"

"Obviously, these two," Jem growled in reply, but the growl wasn't directed at Chuck; it was at us. "Now, if ya'll wanted to battle it out for her heart, why didn't ya just come to me or Atticus?"

"Why would that help?" I hollered at him.

"'Cause Jem knows more 'bout her than any of us do," Walter sighed, "no matter how much ya'll wanna deny it."

"'Sides," Jem kept going, "she's already picked Dill. Does it really matter, Cecil?"

"Yes!" I yelled. "I bet I know more about her than he does! I've known her longer than he has!"

"So," Dill inquired. "Just 'cause you've known her longer don't mean you know more about her! Heck, ya'll **just** started bein' friends this year!"

"That's true," Little Chuck replied. "Why don't ya'll just let Jem do the questions thing?"

"Let me help!" we heard a familiar voice shout.

And then we saw Scout walk down from the porch to get to us. She was so shocked, I couldn't believe it. She's not used to more people than Dill crushing on her. Nellie was right behind her. Instead of frowning or crying like a stupid girl, she smiled softly, but sadly.

"Cecil, would it make ya feel better if we had the question thing?" she queried.

"Yes'm, it would," I replied with a single nod.

"Ok," she whispered before she turned to Dill. "Don't be upset, Dill. Ok?" He nodded as well. She then turned back to me. "Cecil, you realize I'll still love Dill, right? I don't wanna lead you on."

You'd think my heart would shatter, but it didn't. I saw that coming, in all honesty. I nodded and sighed as Little Chuck released me. Next thing I knew, Dill and I were being dragged into the dining room.

**TKAM**

**(Jem's POV)**

There was a certain way this worked. Dill and Cecil would go through quite a few different questions and stages. Each would be run by a different person with Scout standing by for input. I was really getting sick of this. I just wanted everything to be over with as soon as possible, but if I had to choose which one I wanted my sister to "date," it'd be Dill. Dill was my best friend and treated Scout correctly. Plus, Cecil and Scout were too alike to even date each other. It'd be like dating yourself.

"Are ya sure ya wanna do this, Scout?" I inquired, cocking a brow at her.

"Absolutely," she stated. We were in the kitchen while the two boys were in the dining room. She peeked through the door to watch them before returning to us. "It doesn't matter. I'll still love Dill. A promise is a promise, remember?"

She always managed to make me smile. She could be so innocent, it would drive me insane. I softly and sadly smiled; Cecil and Dill making her do this made me so angry. Nonetheless, if Scout could go through with it, I could to. I nodded at her question as we all got to work on writing down queries for the boys. Once we had gotten a solid number of questions, Scout sighed and nodded in approval.

"This is good," she fake smiled. I could see how much this was hurting her. My poor, little sister…

"Well," I sighed, ruffling Scout's hair in an attempt to make her smile, "let's get this over with."

**TKAM**

I was getting so tired of this. Scout was sitting with her copy of the questions on her lap. There were two columns: Cecil and Dill. She's put a checkmark in the box of the person who got the right answer. There were at least a hundred questions that revolved around Scout Finch. They would each get a chance to answer, but most of the time, Cecil would try to cheat an answer off of Dill. And even though we knew Dill was better than that, we had to make them start saying their answers in unison.

"How tall is Scout?" Jamielee asked; it was her turn to ask a question.

"Four foot six," Dill hollered as Cecil shouted "Four foot five!"

Scout smiled and put a checkmark next to Dill's name. I smiled, too, which made Jamielee jump up and down. During this entire time, however, Scout had been wearing sunglasses; thick, thick sunglasses. The next question was an easy one.

"What's Scout's eye color?" Little Chuck Little inquired as he leaned back in his chair, feet up on the table. Thankfully, they were on top of a placemat.

"Green!" they each yelled.

Scout took off her sunglasses and blinked. She was just then adjusting to the light. I smirked and patted her shoulder. She then put a check in each of the box columns. I could tell she still hated this.

**TKAM**

**(Dill's POV)**

"Well, that was the last question," Walter stated. "Count 'em up, Scout."

She nodded and began counting each column. I was becoming anxious and nervous. I looked at Cecil, who wore the same expression on his face as I did. Just as Scout reached the middle of one column, Jem sighed and put his hand over the pencil. Her eyes widened as she turned her head to face her elder brother. He wrote the next—not to mention, the very _last_—question on the sheet of paper. Scout then smirked at her brother. Jem smirked back and looked at the both of us. Then, my fiancée put on the blankest face I had ever seen.

"What is Scout feeling right now?" Jem inquired.

Cecil and I both stared at Scout for a solid twenty seconds. However, once those twenty seconds were over, I kept thinking whilst Cecil snapped his fingers and decided his answer. He smiled as he turned to Jem.

"She's relieved," Cecil stated. "Scout's relieved 'cause after all this first semester, she's _finally_ figured out that Dill and I both like 'er. Now she knows what's been goin' on. She's relieved! There's nothin' else she needs to figure out."

Jem and Scout said nothing. Even the other kids looked at her. They couldn't put their finger on it; just like me. Cecil just leaned back in his chair, proud of himself for "knowing her so well." Jem was the only one that knew it. It wouldn't help to ask Jem, so I just kept looking at Scout. I paid attention to her nose (just in case it twitched), her cheeks, her mouth, her ears, but then I knew what to look at. I needed to watch her eyes. I looked deep into them, trying to spot the slightest emotion. And there it was.

"She's…" I whispered, causing everyone to look at me. "Scout's upset and scared."

They were all taken aback, wondering where _that_ came from. I just kept staring at Scout. Her face wouldn't change. But then, suddenly, Jem snapped me out of it. He quickly queried, "Would you care to explain?" I quickly returned to reality and nodded.

"Cecil's partially right; she _did_ find out that we both like 'er," I stated, which made even Cecil nod, "but 'cause she figured it out, she's upset. She doesn't like us fightin', or arguin', or bein' mean to each other. She's become upset, and 'cause she's afraid she'll lose one of us…she's scared. She thinks that just 'cause she likes me, she'll porb'ly lose Cecil."

Jem smiled at me and checked my name. Just then, he allowed Scout to change her expression. She was too shocked to tally up the checkmarks, so Jem was in charge of doing so. I stared at Scout the entire time, though; my eyes were glued to her. She settled her head in her arms and stared at Jem. Suddenly, I felt like a terrible person. Jem had all of the marks counted up in a moment.

"Dill knows the most," he stated bluntly. "Sorry, Cecil; better luck next time."

"Finally, it's over!" Jamielee sighed in relief. She then grabbed ahold of Mary, Chuck, and Nellie. "Come on, everyone! Let's go outside and play! I need my D!"

They all laughed and followed her out. Cecil and I stayed behind, though. He opened up the door, but waited for Scout. She was leaning back in her chair just a bit, waiting for something to come to her mind. Or at least…that's what it looked like. I almost went up and touched her shoulder to comfort her, but Jem decided that wouldn't be a good idea. He mouthed for me to back away for a while. I supposed I hit the nail straight on the head when I answered the last question.

"Are ya comin' Scout?" Cecil inquired.

"Uh," I started to reply, but Jem finished it up for me.

"Her stomach's a little upset right now," he began. "Don't worry; she should be better soon. Y'all can still play out front. I'll be out shortly."

"Ok," we responded, silently walking out the door.

**TKAM**

**(Jem's POV)**

As soon as Scout heard the door close, her anxious expression had finally worn away. She sighed in relief and leaned toward the table. I kept a hand on her back and patted it. She was feeling so terrible. After several moments of breathing softly, she leaned back and looked me in the eyes. I watched her little green eyes shoot rays of distraught into my own brown eyes. She then sniffled quietly and held her face; just trying to keep her hands busy.

"Are ya alright?" I inquired quietly.

That did it. Scout began to nod, but suddenly, it became a violent shaking of her head. She rushed into a hug, letting her tears soak up the denim in my overalls. I'd only seen my baby sister cry a few times. She didn't even cry when we were hurt (her emotionally, me physically) after the Bob Ewell incident. She didn't cry after she was three-years-old. Now, she was nearly ten-years-old (would be this coming May) and broke her record. She just kept crying and crying and crying. All that suppressed frustration, anger, sadness, and fear from over the years had finally fought its way out of her system. It almost made _me_ cry.

"It'll be alright, Scout," I whispered sincerely into her ear, holding her up with a hug. "It'll be just fine."

"N-No it won't!" she choked out through her sobs. "I'm s-s-so tired 'a th-this, Jem! W-Why does th-this h-have to happen? Cecil n-never s-s-said he _wouldn't_ stop b-b-bein' friends w-with me after D-D-Dill said wh-what he s-s-said!"

"Scout," I began, "Cecil won't stop bein' yer friend. He'll get over all 'a this. Just cry everything out, ok?"

"O-O-Ok," she sobbed, beginning to cry even harder.

My overalls became amazingly wet, but I held my sister nonetheless. After a few more seconds, Cal finally came home with the groceries. She waltzed in, humming a little tune, shut the door with her foot, and gasped at the sight of Scout and I. She rushed to us and dropped the groceries on the table. I allowed Cal to take over from there. She kept going "Hush, child, hush," and kept making shushing noises; that only made Scout cry harder. Cal eased her up into her arms and carried her into her room, where she'd sit with her and console her.

"Tell yo father that Scout will be with me when he gets here," she ordered.

"Yes'm," I replied with a nod.

It only made it harder to move when I could hear Scout's cries and explanations from the living room. I sighed, shook my head in an attempt to get her sobs out of my head, and wiped the tear stains from my shirt. When I walked outside, I went up to Dill, who had been waiting on the porch. I sat next to him and watched him run a hand through his duck-like hair. Oh yes; Charles Baker Harris—also known as Dill—was extremely upset.

"Ya alright, Dill?" I asked.

"Sorta," he replied with a sigh. "Look at Cecil. Is that how he deals with things? We heard Scout cryin' 'n he acted like he cared at first, but got over it in—and I ain't kiddin'—forty seconds."

I looked at Cecil Jacobs and saw him sitting on the sidewalk with Walter. He looked just a bit upset, if I do say so myself. He and Walter were talking quietly, but it didn't look much like it was about Scout. Then I saw Walter look over at Jamielee and Mary. Wait…were they talking about those two? That made me think quite a bit, which I like to do. If they were talking about them, then…that's it! Just as I was piecing everything together, Dill's previous statement about hearing Scout's sobs had occurred to me.

"So you and Cecil were the only ones that heard Scout, right?" I inquired, to which Dill nodded. "Good; now help me figure something out."

Dill gave me a strange look, but nodded nonetheless.

**-\[=]/-**

**Ok, so….I wrote this chapter in one and 11/12 days XD YAY! Now, I'll be working on the next one, but YOU HAVE TO REVIEW FOR ME TO UPDATE. Just saying…LOL**

**Wow, I think this is the only chapter without Scout's POV 0.0 AND I KNOW SOMEONE'LL SAY THIS: The part with Dill's POV looked a bit rushed, didn't it? I'm sorry! D8 I knew it might; I was just thinking up a subplot too fast. **

**So, anyways, I'll start on the next chapter now. :) Thank you for reading AND PLEASE REVIEW! **


	8. Flips and Flops, but No Lolipops

**Starting this chapter at 8:11 PM on 7-23-12. Yep…there we go. XD Anywho, please enjoy the following chapter. :)**

_**BY THE WAY: HERE'S WHAT YOU GUYS CAN REVIEW! Tell me who your favorite FC is and if you want to see more of just them, or more of them with someone ;D**_

**DISCLAIMER****: Do I LOOK like Harper Lee? =.=" Nah…didn't think so. ANYWAYS…I own Clarence, Raymond, Mrs. Everson, Nellie, Jamielee, and Mary. ;3**

**TKAM**

**(Jem's POV)**

Dill followed me into the house, closing the door behind him. We heard Scout wailing in her room, which caused Dill to wince. I sighed sadly and shook my head. _My_ _poor_ _sister_… I thought. It was only nine in the morning and she was bawling her eyes out. I grabbed a large sheet of paper and a pencil. With them, I made a list of all nine of us; the boys' names on top, the girls on the bottom. Scout had eventually calmed down and the sobs stopped. That was when she came to join Dill and I.

"How ya feelin', Scout?" Dill queried gently. She looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks and smiled softly. She seated herself in the chair next to him and mouthed out a nice, soft 'better.' I grinned and asked her if she wanted to help us. "Yeah, do ya?" he added.

"Sure," she replied in a creaky voice; she then nodded. "What're y'all doin', anyhow?"

"I dunno," Dill answered without an answer. I smirked at them. "Jem, what _are_ we doin'?"

"We're makin' a like-list," I stated with a chuckle. "'Cause, Scout, I think Cecil may not have eyes for just you."

Her eyes were as wide as saucers at my statement. She couldn't help but be relieved. She beamed so brightly, the sun died down just a bit. It made me so happy, I could of hollered. By the looks of it, Dill was feeling the same way as I was. With a snicker, Scout took the sheet of paper and pencil. She drew a line from her name to Dill's name without hesitation. She slid them across the table my way and rested her head in her hands happily.

"Very nice," I snickered. "Now, we just make a line here…"

I trailed off as I drew a line from Nellie's name to my name. Then Scout giggled like the little girl she was. I rolled my eyes and shook my head; she got that all wrong. Dill then looked at me with a smirk and an arched brow. I growled just a small bit before I laid the pencil down.

"I know she likes me, but I don't like her in that way," I decided. "I mean…I don't think I do. She's fun ta talk to 'n all, but I don't see us as a couple, ya know?"

"So you've known 'bout her likin' ya?" Scout inquired. "I thought ya were just ignorant of the fact she liked ya, but I didn't know that ya knew 'bout it."

"Yeah, since the second day," I shrugged. "Don't matter. Now, who else likes who?"

"Well, obviously, Walter likes Jamielee," Scouted stated. "When we were walkin' home a few months ago, we met up with her halfway home and he blushed when he saw her."

I nodded and drew the lines. That was an odd one. They were a little _too_ opposite in my opinion. Then again, opposites attract. I shrugged and looked at Little Chuck's name. He never really liked anyone in _that way_, did he? I asked Scout and Dill, but they shook their heads as well. So it was agreed; Little Chuck Little wanted no ball and chain. And that left the final name on the list.

"Cecil Jacobs obviously likes—"

**TKAM**

**(Jamielee's POV)**

Mary, Little Chuck, Nellie, and I were playing hand games. You know, the kind of games where you slap hands and say rhymes; it's fun. They made me giggle nonstop! However, I would steal glances at Cecil and Walter, watching them speak about (more than likely) Scout. But then…they looked our way. More importantly, they looked at Mary and me. I began to wonder what they were talking about. It made me think of the first time I met Cecil Jacobs.

It was raining outside and I was only five-years-old. Naturally, I'd jump in all the puddles. That was when I bumped into someone who was about my age. His curly, red locks jumped as he hit the pavement. I threw my hands to my mouth, apologizing a million times. I then stuck one out for him to grab ahold of. He took said offer and jumped back up. He and a man who looked very much like him smiled at me.

"Hello!" I beamed. "Sorry I bumped into ya! I didn't mean ta."

"It's alright," he replied. "I'm Cecil Jacobs; this is my Pop."

"Hello," I greeted them. "My name's Jamielee Zinctin! Ma was right behind me…meh, I bet she's still a block behind."

I began to laugh, which made Cecil stare skeptically at me. Mr. Jacobs snickered and grabbed Cecil's hand. They explained that they had to leave, but if I ever needed them, I could go to their house. I thanked them and waved them off. Ma eventually caught up with me and picked me up by my armpits. She lifted me to her face and nagged about how I shouldn't go off on my own, especially in a new town.

"But Ma," I interrupted, "I found a friend! His name's Cecil Jacobs!"

She stopped yelling and just gaped at me. After a few moments of saying nothing, she squealed happily and danced around, grinning as if there was no tomorrow. I happily sighed at the memory, especially since we're still friends. It's true that I liked Walter for a few months, but I had gotten over it once Cecil and I started hanging out even more than usual. Plus, I was the only one he trusted with his secrets. It made me feel special. I sighed and returned to the game the four of us were playing.

**TKAM**

**(Cecil's POV)**

"There's too much drama over here," I sighed unhappily. "Especially since I'm beginnin' to like more than just one girl."

Walter's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. As did mine. I didn't mean to say that out loud, but it slipped, and it was too late to take it back. I groaned angrily and looked at Walter, shaking his shoulder. My eyes were dead set on his.

"You can't tell no one," I stated, "please, Walter, please!"

"I thought ya just liked Scout," he replied. "There's another?"

"Yes, but it's just a small crush," I countered. "It ain't a huge deal."

"Well, who is it?" he whispered.

I looked toward Jamielee and Mary, making sure they weren't listening. I sighed and leaned toward Walter's ear. He was anticipating a good answer, which I would give him. Obviously, this wasn't just about Scout anymore, which would strike just about anyone as odd. I made Walter pinky-swear not to tell anyone—_anyone_—about it. He (reluctantly) agreed.

"It's Jamielee," I whispered. "But only a little!"

**TKAM**

**(Jem's POV)**

"—Mary Cinders!" I exclaimed proudly, figuring out who Cecil Jacobs' "other woman" was as I drew the lines that connected their names together. Dill and Scout gasped and I smiled. I knew I'd figure it out.

**TKAM**

**(Walter's POV)**

The next day, it was just Jem, Nellie, Scout, Dill, and I. We were at the Finch house and in the backyard. Jem stated that something very important about Cecil was going on and he needed my help. All of a sudden, I became a bit frightened, as if I were to get receive a shot. I suppressed my shudders (for the most part) and settled myself on the grass. Jem held out a chart with several names on it.

Lines connected each boy's name to a girl's (except for Chuck). I was obviously confused, having not been told what this meeting was about. Jem swore us to secrecy to keep it between the six of us, and, like an idiot, I agreed. He drew his finger to each line, telling us what they meant. Apparently, Jem had made a "like list" of us all. When he pointed out that Nellie's name was drawn to his name, she blushed a tad bit.

She looked a bit hurt that he didn't want to talk about it, but they each said nothing. Jem acted as if it were not _his_ name that had connected with hers. Anyway, I saw that he had connected my name to Jamielee's. Was I _that_ obvious? I hadn't even thought anyone (besides Scout) had picked up on that! I inwardly sighed, accepting that they had discovered my so-called "secret." In all honesty, my liking of her sort of dwindled, but I still stared at her whenever she was looking the other way.

"And, the reason y'all are all here is 'cause of this one," Jem stated as he pointed to Cecil's name. Was that Mary Cinders on the other end? But he told me he liked Jamielee! Then again, if Jem could figure out who _I_ liked, why wouldn't he be able to figure out _Cecil's_ crush? Thoughts swarmed in my head, asking myself if I should or shouldn't tell them Cecil's secret. "Is this right, Walter?"

"Uh…" I dumbly replied, "yeah, I guess."

Who knew? Maybe he liked three girls.

"Good, now we just need to get Cecil fully focused on Mary!" Scout exclaimed happily. "Then he'll get off 'a my back!"

"Yeah," I replied weakly with everyone else. I just couldn't place my finger on something, though.

Why on earth did it bother me that Cecil may like Mary?

**-\[=]/-**

**Oh, how wrong you are, Jem! XD Nope~ It's pretty obvious now that Cecil likes two (or three) girls. And only Walter knows it. But Jem, Scout and Dill think it's *gasp* ANOTHER WOMAN. Dramatic enough? XD I know this chapter was short, and I'm sorry, but I'll need a few days to make the plot go any further. This was an info chapter basically.**

**Well, this is a bit of a flipped chapter, too, I guess. Everyone's likes have switched…except Dill's, Scout's, Nellie's, and…Chuck. LOL **

**SO SORRY THIS IS LATE! I got so lazy!**

**IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE CHART THEY MADE, GO HERE!**

** hyperbunnyzz . deviantart #/d58hr2u**

**JUST NO SPACES! :) **

**AND THE LAST PIECE OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION.**

**HERE'S WHAT YOU GUYS CAN REVIEW! Tell me who your favorite FC is and if you want to see more of just them, or more of them with someone ;D**


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